Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has been declared mentally unfit to face trial on expenses associated to an alleged worldwide sex-trafficking operation, in accordance with a court docket submitting made public on Thursday.
The 80-year-old was arrested in October and charged with organizing intercourse events the place male fashions have been reportedly coerced into sexual acts, paid for intercourse and plied with medication.
Within the newly launched authorized paperwork, Jeffries’ legal professional, Brian Bieber, revealed that a number of medical evaluations over latest months have concluded that Jeffries is affected by extreme dementia, together with Alzheimer’s illness and different cognitive impairments.
Information of the court docket submitting was first reported by the Wall Road Journal.
Jeffries’ situation has deteriorated to the purpose that he now requires fixed supervision and care, in accordance with one psychiatrist employed by the protection.
An professional put forth by the prosecution reached an analogous conclusion — stating that Jeffries’ situation is nearly sure to deteriorate additional.
In mild of those conclusions, Jeffries’ authorized staff has requested the court docket to hospitalize him for a interval of 4 months to evaluate whether or not he could ultimately be deemed competent to take part in authorized proceedings.
Prosecutors haven’t opposed the movement.
A spokesperson for the US legal professional’s workplace within the Jap District of New York declined to touch upon the matter.
Jeffries, who ran Abercrombie from 1992 till his departure in 2014, was indicted this previous fall on federal expenses of intercourse trafficking and interstate prostitution.
The indictment alleges that Jeffries, his accomplice Matthew Smith and affiliate James Jacobson orchestrated a global sex-trafficking operation between 2008 and 2015.
The three are accused of luring younger males with guarantees of modeling alternatives, coercing them into attending intercourse occasions beneath false pretenses and subjecting them to non-consensual sexual acts.
Victims have been reportedly given medication, compelled to signal nondisclosure agreements and had their private belongings confiscated throughout these occasions.
The alleged actions befell in areas together with New York, the Hamptons, and varied worldwide locations.
All three males have pleaded not responsible.
Brad Edwards, an legal professional representing alleged victims in a civil lawsuit towards Jeffries, stated that his purchasers will transfer ahead with their case no matter the court docket ruling.
“We hope he is rehabilitated and faces the penalty he deserves,” Edwards advised the Journal.
“Regardless, he cannot and will not avoid liability in our civil class action lawsuit.”
The prison expenses are available tandem with disturbing allegations outlined in a separate civil swimsuit, particulars of which have been first reported by The Publish final month.
In that case, two aspiring male fashions filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court docket claiming they have been promised high-paying jobs with Abercrombie — solely to be drugged, raped and trafficked by Jeffries and his circle.
The 2 males, whose identities are being withheld, allege that they have been required to shave all physique hair and endure painful penile injections meant to extend erections through the alleged abuse.
In keeping with the civil criticism, a Jeffries affiliate named James Jacobson recruited the boys round 2010 and 2011 and coerced them into non-public conferences beneath the pretense of vetting them for modeling alternatives.
One of many males was reportedly a young person on the time.
Each have been allegedly sexually assaulted by Jacobson earlier than being launched into the bigger scheme.
The abuse is alleged to have occurred at properties in Manhattan and the Hamptons in addition to throughout worldwide journeys, in accordance with their lawyer, Robert Georges.
