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.
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"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.
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