Men coerced into sex Ex-chief executive of fashion company charged with "sex crimes"

Wealth and power exploited: The former head of Abercrombie & Fitch is alleged to have sexually exploited aspiring models. Now he has been charged with serious sexual offenses against several men.

The former head of the US fashion company Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries, has been charged in New York with serious sex crimes against aspiring models. As head of "one of the world's best-known clothing retailers, he used his power, wealth and influence to exploit men for his own sexual pleasure and that of his partner", said District Attorney Breon Peace in the New York borough of Brooklyn.

In doing so, he had taken advantage of the appeal of the Abercrombie brand, which the young men saw as a "ticket to success in the modeling industry". The abuse was committed against at least 15 people and lasted from 2008 to 2015, according to Peace. The public prosecutor's office is seeking a trial against Jeffries, his partner at the time and a third person.

Just over a year ago, several men accused Jeffries and his partner of sexually exploiting them at events. According to media reports, the couple used an intermediary to find young men for themselves. Jeffries left the company in 2014. The now 80-year-old had created a controversial image in the past with statements that he only wanted "cool, good-looking people" as clients.

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Deeds in New York, London, France and Morocco

According to the indictment, Jeffries and his partner had commissioned a third man to find victims for them. Men were selected from all over the world. Jeffries' partner then arranged for them to be flown to events with the company boss, for example to New York City or to hotels around the world - including England, France, Italy and Morocco. "They led the men to believe that attending these sex events could provide modeling opportunities with Abercrombie or otherwise benefit their careers," Peace continued. The alleged victims had signed confidentiality agreements before the events. Personal items such as smartphones also had to be handed over. "In order to maintain the secrecy of these events, the defendants led the men to believe that it could harm their careers if they did not comply with requests for certain sexual acts during the events," the prosecutor continued.

The alleged victims were also put under pressure, and alcohol, Viagra and muscle relaxants were administered. On more than one occasion, there was "invasive sexual and violent contact with body parts and other objects" without consent. "We have extensive evidence. We have travel records, we have financial records, we have statements from victims and other witnesses. So we believe we have a lot of evidence to support the charges in this case," Peace said.

Millions for the abuse

According to the prosecutor, Jeffries and his partner spent millions of dollars on the prostitution ring: "This included hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash for commercial sex, large sums of money for the staff who ran the sex events, money for domestic travel, foreign travel, hotel rooms, services of a security company," as well as other costs.

According to media reports, the defendants are at least partially in Florida, but should be brought to New York over the next few days to stand trial. According to the public prosecutor's office, Jeffries is to remain free on bail.

SDA