Former Abercrombie CEO says he’s not competent to stand trial in sex trafficking case

by Curated December 14, 2024 · Gay News / Gay Pride / Gay Rights / LGBTQ Nation

Jeffries, who served as Abercrombe’s CEO from 1992 to 2014, was arrested in Florida along with his partner Matthew Smith and a third man in October. The three men allegedly ran an international sex-trafficking and prostitution business through which prosecutors say they coerced dozens of men into taking part in “sex events.”

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While the indictment specifies that Jeffries and co.’s crimes took place from 2008 to 2015, Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said they may stretch back as far as 1992. Many of the alleged victims were young men who hoped to become Abercrombie models.

The 80-year-old Jeffries has “vehemently” denied all the allegations against him.

Late last year, following a damning BBC documentary about his time as Abercrombie’s top executive, Jeffries and Smith were named in a civil class-action lawsuit that alleged they engaged in sex trafficking with over 100 young men in exchange for high-paying modeling gigs and other favors, in what the plaintiffs call a “criminal enterprise” run by Jeffries over two decades.

The BBC doc alleged a network of middlemen was used to recruit potential victims for events in London, New York, Marrakesh, and other locations around the world between 2009 and 2015. Young men were reportedly paid thousands of dollars in cash after being instructed to engage in sexual acts with Jeffries and Smith or with one another.

The lawsuit, meanwhile, also named Abercrombie & Fitch, claiming the company supported Jeffries’ alleged “sex trafficking venture” by authorizing “unfettered access” to corporate resources including a jet, transportation, and unlimited amounts of cash. The company responded saying that “to the extent they occurred” Jeffries’ illegal activities “were carried out separate and apart from his work at A&F.”

In January, the FBI opened an investigation into the allegations of rampant sexual abuse and exploitation by Jeffries and Smith. At the time, the BBC reported that federal agents – led by agents specializing in sex crimes and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York –interviewed multiple witnesses and issued subpoenas.

With federal prosecutors expected to challenge the move, the battle over whether Jeffries is competent to stand trial could extend pretrial proceedings into 2025.

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Author: John Russell