More men accuse former Abercrombie & Fitch boss of sexual exploitation
More men have accused former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his British partner of sexual exploitation.
More men have accused former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his British partner of sexual exploitation.
Last year, the BBC’s Panorama reported the 80-year-old and his partner Matthew Smith, 61, used a middleman to find young men for sex events at Jeffries’ New York home and at hotels across the world, per The Sun.
At the time of the program’s airing, a middleman denied any wrongdoing – and said men entered the reported events “with their eyes wide open”.
Eight men had told the broadcaster that they attended events – with some alleging they were abused or exploited.
The FBI launched an investigation in the wake of the reports.
Mr Jeffries, Mr Smith, and Abercrombie & Fitch are facing a civil lawsuit claiming the retailer funded a sex-trafficking operation over the two decades he was in charge.
The couple’s lawyers have previously said they deny allegations of wrongdoing, and added: “The courtroom is where we will deal with this matter.”
Mr Jeffries’ lawyers filed documents saying that he “vehemently denies every allegation made against him” in the civil lawsuit.
A separate document filed on behalf of Mr Smith said the allegations “concern events that allegedly occurred in 2010”, which have been “time-barred since 2011”, and the claim “does not detail any specific, factual occurrences” of an alleged sexual offence by him.
Abercrombie & Fitch filed a separate response saying the retailer had no knowledge of a “supposed trafficking venture” or alleged sexual misconduct.
The BBC now says 20 men in total have now claimed they attended or helped organise the events.
“Multiple men” claimed that Mr Jeffries’ assistants injected some attendees in the penis with what they were told was liquid Viagra, the broadcaster reported.
One person, given the pseudonym ‘Chris’, said he felt he was “going to die” following an injection which caused a reaction during an event at a New York home belonging to Mr Jeffries.
He claimed nobody called for an ambulance as he felt “hot, dizzy” and in shock.
Chris claimed that Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith had been waiting in a different room, and then tried to have sex with him.
Former attendee Diego Guillen, 42, said he was paid $US500 ($AU745) on Saturdays to wake up men expected to go to sex events in 2011, estimating that he made roughly 80 calls over seven months.
Mr Guillen, who is now a lawyer, claimed that other men who attended the events were under “zero pressure”.
“Michel and Matthew are high profile gay men and liked having sex with young, handsome men,” he said.
“And being older, they knew that the real way to get this done was to be generous. But with full consent and making sure that the (men) wanted it and liked it. And that’s it.”
Last year one of the eight men who spoke to the BBC, David Bradberry, angrily called Mr Jeffries a “predator” and a “deviant”.
It was claimed that “recruiters” would find men to attend the events and get between $US500 ($AU745) and $US1000 ($AU1491) for every referral.
The BBC named the alleged middleman as James Jacobson, and claimed he propositioned or sexually “auditioned” men by requesting or offering to perform sex acts on them.
Mr Bradberry and another man, Barrett Pall, described how Mr Jacobson wore a distinctive snakeskin patch over his nose – which he said had been mangled in a botched plastic surgery.
“He was selling fame and the price was compliance,” Mr Bradberry said.
“Jim made it clear me to me that unless I let him perform (sex acts) on me, that I would not be meeting with Abercrombie & Fitch or Mike Jeffries.
“It should have been a red flag. I wanted to believe this was an opportunity to meet someone who could make all my dreams come true.”
Mr Jacobson allegedly told Mr Bradberry to dress in Abercrombie & Fitch clothes for the event.
The men were reportedly given detailed instructions about the events with no mention of the sex acts expected of them.
“It’s just so f***ed up,” Mr Pall said.
A personal “groomer” was allegedly hired to shave some of the men’s intimate body hair – an experience Mr Pall said was “dehumanising”.
Some of the events allegedly took place to Mr Jeffries’ sprawling and secluded mansion in the Hamptons – with domestic staff ordered to leave every Saturday after “suspicious” preparations.
The men were allegedly required to sign nondisclosure agreements and were reportedly supervised during sex acts by staff wearing Abercrombie & Fitch uniform.
“I didn’t say no. I didn’t say yes. I didn’t have control,” Mr Pall said, breaking down in tears.
One man – who remained anonymous – claimed that “date rape” drugs were put in his drink at an event in Marrakech, knocking him out.
The man, who had been healthy, said he later discovered that he was HIV-positive.
“It kind of turned everything upside down,” he said, choking back tears.
“Things haven’t been the same since then. It was a very slim possibility that it could have come from outside the event.
“But there’s no way to know for sure.”
Mr Jacobson previously said 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”.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
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