Ex-Abercrombie boss asks court to determine his competency to face sex charges
10 December 2024, 22:44
Michael Jeffries, 80, faces federal sex trafficking charges in New York.
The former chief executive of Abercrombie & Fitch has requested a court hearing to determine whether he is mentally fit to stand trial as he faces federal sex trafficking charges in New York.
A lawyer for Michael Jeffries made a motion for a competency hearing during a court appearance on Tuesday in federal court on Long Island.
US attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace’s office, which is prosecuting the case, said there was no discussion in court as to why Jeffries was requesting the hearing.
His lawyer, Brian Bieber, declined to comment afterwards, stating in an emailed reply that the request “will be dealt with in court as, and when, appropriate according to the judge.”
US district judge Nusrat Choudhury gave Jeffries’ lawyers until December 24 to provide further information to the court, including how much of its motion can be sealed, according to Mr Peace’s office.
The judge also set a February 6 date for his lawyers to submit a report from a doctor evaluating Jeffries’ competency. Prosecutors then have until April 8 to file their own doctor’s report.
No date was set for the actual hearing before the judge, Mr Peace’s office said. For now, Jeffries is next due back in federal court in Central Islip on March 13.
US code allows judges to hold such a hearing if there is reasonable cause to believe that the defendant is suffering from a mental disease or defect that prevents them from understanding the nature of the proceedings against them, or assisting properly in their defence.
Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man were arrested in October on charges of luring men into taking part in sex parties by dangling the promise of modelling for the clothing retailer, once famous for its preppy, all-American aesthetic and shirtless male models.
Jeffries, 80, pleaded not guilty in October and is free on a 10 million-dollar (£7.84 million) bail bond. His partner Matthew Smith, 61, pleaded not guilty last week and was similarly released on bond with conditions including home detention and GPS monitoring.
The two are also limited to 125,000 dollars (£97,987) in monthly withdrawals from a trust set up for their benefit, and Smith, a dual American and British citizen, was ordered to surrender his passport.
The third man, James Jacobson, 71, was an employee of Jeffries and recruited men for the sex parties, according to prosecutors. He too has pleaded not guilty and remains free on a 500,000-dollar (£391,950) bond.
Jeffries served as chief executive of Abercrombie from 1992 to 2014, presiding over the evolution of the company from its roots as a hunting and outdoor goods store founded in Manhattan in 1892 to a fixture of teenage shopping culture during the early 2000s.
