Former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch Mike Jeffries along with two “associates” were arrested Tuesday on sex trafficking charges.
More than a dozen counts were filed against Jefferies, his partner Matthew Smith, and a third man referred to by the BBC as a “middle-man.”
The charges claim that between December 2008 and March 2015 the trio would have sex-themed parties, where they would recruit men who wanted to be models. The men were allegedly given drugs and alcohol to perform various sex acts.
The charges include not only sex trafficking but also interstate prostitution, The Associated Press reported.
Attorneys representing Jeffries and Smith “vehemently denied” the allegations, the BBC reported.
Jeffries left Abercrombie & Fitch in 2014, the AP reported.
This is not the first time Jeffries has faced sex allegations. The AP reported that there were allegations in civil lawsuits from people who claimed he had promised them modeling jobs but then persuaded them into sex.
Similar allegations were reported by the BBC, which spawned an independent investigation by Abercrombie & Fitch and conducted by an outside law firm. The BBC said that more than a dozen men were at events they said were staged by Jeffries and Smith. The events were held at Jeffries’ home and hotels across the globe.
Brad Edwards who represented some of the alleged victims, called Tuesday’s arrests, “a huge first step towards obtaining justice for the many victims who were exploited and abused through this sex-trafficking scheme that operated for many years under the legitimate cover Abercrombie provided.” BBC reported.
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