Clothing brand Abercrombie and Fitch has said that it has recruited an ‘outside law firm’ in order to investigated the shocking allegations of grooming and other sex crimes allegedly perpetrated by former CEO Mike Jeffries.
The allegations were made in a BBC documentary that aired in the UK on Monday night. The film accused Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith holding sex events around the world in which young men were forced into intimate acts.
A total of twelve men came forward for the documentary, half of them said that they were lied to about the nature of the parties they were asked to attend. While others said that they feared for their future careers if they did not participate in the acts.
Jeffries ruled over Abercrombie and Fitch from the 1990s until 2014, transforming it from a struggling clothing brand to one of the trendiest in the United States. During his career, Jeffries was accused discrimination, opulence and allowing his partner, Smith, to have influence over the company.
In the wake of the documentary, an official statement from the company said that it was ‘appalled and disgusted’ by the allegations and that the current management has ‘zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind.’
It’s not clear if any criminal charges will be brought in the US as a result of the documentary.
Jeffries’ allege victims were recruited for the events by a middleman identified as James Jacobson, who denies any wrongdoing. Jacobson wore a snakeskin patch over his nose where he said surgery had gone wrong.
Modelling opportunities with A&F were said to have been raised before they met Jeffries and Smith.
David Bradberry, then 23, told the program he was introduced to Jacobson by an agent who described him as the gatekeeper to ‘the owners’ of A&F.
He told reporter Rianna Croxford Jacobson suggested Bruce Weber, who at the time was A&F’s official photographer, should take his picture.
Bradberry claimed: ‘Jim made it clear to me that unless I let him perform oral sex on me, that I would not be meeting with Abercrombie & Fitch or Mike Jeffries.
‘I was paralyzed. It was like he was selling fame. And the price was compliance.’
Bradberry said he had been made to believe ‘this is where everybody gets their start’.
Jacobson is alleged to have given him $500 and told him it was for his time.
He added: ‘I thought he was just a creepy old dude that I wouldn’t have to see again’.
He accepted an invitation to a daytime event at Jeffries’ former home in the Hamptons on New York’s Long Island – recently sold for $29m. Bradberry said he understood Mike Jeffries was a ‘powerful man’ who could ‘make his career’.
Ahead of the event, he said he was given an A&F gift-card to buy an outfit, which he said made it feel ‘legitimate’ and ‘official’.
At the Hamptons, Bradberry said he spoke to Jeffries and Smith about his aspirations to be an A&F model. Later, he said, Jeffries held ‘poppers’ under his nose – a drug which can cause a strong head-rush and disorientation – and later had sex with him.
Men who attended these events told the BBC they involved Mike Jeffries and Matthew Smith engaging in sexual activity with about four men or ‘directing’ them to have sex with each other. Afterwards, the men said they were given envelopes filled with thousands of dollars in cash.
According to the BBC, Jeffries and Smith did not respond to repeated requests for comment but Jacobson said all the men went into these events ‘with their eyes wide open’.
The BBC said that two former US prosecutors had independently reviewed documents and testimony and called for an investigation to determine whether charges for sex trafficking should be brought.
Under US law, sex trafficking includes getting an adult to travel to another state or country to have sex for money by using force, fraud or coercion.
Other allegations on the Panorama special, The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool include recruiters of the men would get between $500 and $1,000 for each one.
Jacobson is accused of propositioning or sexually ‘auditioning’ them, by requesting or offering to perform oral sex before being introduced to Jeffries.
It is also claimed a personal ‘groomer’ was hired to intimately shave body hair from men attending events, an experience some described as ‘dehumanizing’
Other allegations are that the men were required to sign non-disclosure agreements and understood they would be sued if they spoke out
Jeffries’ personal staff, who wore A&F uniforms, are also said to have supervised the men – including in the bedroom – and handed them money afterwards
Barrett Pall, a former model turned life coach and activist, said he felt pressured into attending an event in the Hamptons in 2011.
Then 22, he told the BBC he was recruited by an older model, who received a referral fee, to be his ‘replacement’ for ‘some sort of sexual experience’ with the couple.
He said the older model told him that ‘you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do’ but suggested that ‘the further you go, the better’, and alluded to career opportunities. When he arrived at the event, with staff supervising, he felt under pressure to ‘perform’.
‘How was I going to leave? I didn’t have a car,’ he said. ‘I had a chaperone sitting and watching me.’
Pall said one of the other men recruited for the event performed oral sex on him as Jeffries and Smith watched. He said they then encouraged him to come over to the bed and kiss Jeffries. He added, later two other men recruited for the event had sex with the A&F boss and his partner.
At one point, he said Jeffries was behind him, groping him.
Brad Edwards, a civil lawyer who the BBC said had examined the evidence, said US prosecutors should investigate whether what these ‘brave men’ describe could be sex trafficking.
Edwards said, ‘There may have been evidence of coercion for some of the men, whereas others might not have felt the coercive tactics.’
‘Remember, coercion is the reasonable belief that serious harm will be inflicted and serious harm could be reputational harm, financial harm, physical harm,’ he added.
Edwards also said Jeffries and Smith might argue the men were consenting adults and the fact that some had engaged in commercial sex in the past was ‘a factor’, although he said past actions were ‘really irrelevant’ to whether a particular commercial sex act was due to force, fraud or coercion. Edwards said there was a ‘very high’ burden of proof for prosecutors, however.
Elizabeth Geddes, who was a federal prosecutor for more than 15 years, said: ‘There’s certainly an argument that these young men were subjected to potential coercion. I think there are grounds for a prosecutor to open an investigation and look closely at this conduct to determine if a criminal prosecution is warranted.’
Jacobson – the middleman, now aged 70 – said in a statement through his lawyer that he took offence at the suggestion of ‘any coercive, deceptive or forceful behaviour on my part’ and had ‘no knowledge of any such conduct by others’.
He said he did not recall making promises of modelling opportunities.
‘Any encounter I had was fully consensual,’ he said. ‘Everyone I came into contact with who attended these events went in with their eyes wide open.’
Jeffries and Smith declined to comment to the BBC.
An Abercrombie & Fitch Co spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We are appalled and disgusted by the behavior described in the allegations against Mr. Jeffries, whose employment with Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ended in 2014, nearly ten years ago.
‘Speaking up and coming forward is not easy, and our thoughts are with those who bravely raised their voices. Since being contacted by the BBC, we have engaged an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the issues raised.
‘The company’s current executive leadership team and board of directors were not aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr. Jeffries.
‘For close to a decade, a new executive leadership team and refreshed board of directors have successfully transformed our brands and culture into the values-driven organization we are today. We have zero tolerance for abuse, harassment or discrimination of any kind.’
https://www.cf.org/news/abercrombie-fitch-ceo-accused-of-gay-sex-trafficking/
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