What happened
Mike Jeffries, the CEO of fashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch from 1992 to 2014, was arrested Tuesday after a grand jury indicted him and two associates for allegedly running a sex trafficking ring from 2008 to 2015.
Who said what
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn accused Jeffries, 80, of using "force, fraud and coercion to lure dozens of men to events around the world, where they were sexually exploited" by him and his romantic partner, Matthew Smith, The New York Times said. At these sex parties, the indictment alleged, Jeffries and Smith sometimes "injected men in their penises with a prescription-grade erection-inducing substance" to "engage in sex acts in which they were otherwise physically incapable or unwilling."
The third defendant, James Jacobson, 71, allegedly recruited many of the victims, "often under the premise of potentially modeling for Abercrombie & Fitch," The Washington Post said, and coerced them into having sex with him first. A 2023 BBC investigation and subsequent civil lawsuit alleged that Jeffries and his accomplices had used promises of jobs at Abercrombie to lure dozens of victims.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"To anyone who thinks they can exploit or coerce others by using the so-called casting-couch system, this case should serve as a warning," said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. "Prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison." Lawyers for Jeffries and Smith, 61, said they would respond to the accusations in court, not the media.
What next?
If convicted, the three men would likely spend most of their remaining lives in prison. The sex trafficking charges are punishable by 15 years to life, and the interstate prostitution charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years. Jeffries and Smith are expected to be arraigned Friday.
-
Nursing is no longer considered a professional degree by the Department of EducationThe Explainer An already strained industry is hit with another blow
-
6 gripping museum exhibitions to view this winterThe Week Recommends Discover the real Grandma Moses and Frida Kahlo
-
Why do Republicans fear swing state immigration raids in North Carolina?Today’s Big Question Trump’s aggressive enforcement sparks backlash worries
-
Executions are on the rise in the US after years of declineThe Explainer This year has brought the highest number of executions in a decade
-
Two men accused of plotting LGBTQ+ attacksSpeed Read The men were arrested alongside an unidentified minor
-
France makes first arrests in Louvre jewels heistSpeed Read Two suspects were arrested in connection with the daytime theft of royal jewels from the museum
-
Trump pardons crypto titan who enriched familySpeed Read Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering while CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange
-
Thieves nab French crown jewels from LouvreSpeed Read A gang of thieves stole 19th century royal jewels from the Paris museum’s Galerie d’Apollon
-
Arsonist who attacked Shapiro gets 25-50 yearsSpeed Read Cody Balmer broke into the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion and tried to burn it down
-
Man charged over LA’s deadly Palisades Firespeed read 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht has been arrested in connection with the fire that killed 12 people
-
4 dead in shooting, arson attack in Michigan churchSpeed Read A gunman drove a pickup truck into a Mormon church where he shot at congregants and then set the building on fire
