Former Abercrombie CEO Michael Jeffries arrested over sex trafficking allegations

Michael Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, and two others have been taken into custody on charges related to sex trafficking and interstate prostitution, according to a representative for federal prosecutors on Tuesday.

The specifics of the criminal charges were not immediately disclosed. These arrests follow a series of sexual misconduct allegations spanning several years, which were made in civil lawsuits and media reports by young individuals who claimed Jeffries enticed them with offers of modeling work and then coerced them into sexual acts.

In an email response, quoted by AP, Michael Jeffries' lawyer, Brian Bieber, said that he would "respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse — not the media."

Details regarding the legal representation for the other defendants were not readily available.

Jeffries departed from Abercrombie & Fitch, headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, in 2014. A civil lawsuit filed in New York last year alleged that Abercrombie permitted Michael Jeffrie's to operate a sex-trafficking ring during his 22-year tenure. The lawsuit claimed that Jeffries employed modeling scouts to scour the internet for potential victims, and some of these aspiring models became victims of sex trafficking.

Last year, Abercrombie announced that it had enlisted an external law firm to carry out an independent investigation following a BBC report that raised similar accusations. The BBC investigation included accounts from twelve men who described participating in events involving sexual activities, allegedly arranged by Jeffries and his partner, Matthew Smith. These events reportedly took place at Jeffries' New York residence as well as hotels in cities like London and Paris.