Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO’s Competency Hearing for Sex Charges
Defense lawyers are claiming that the former longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Michael Jeffries, may have dementia, leading to the necessity of a competency hearing to determine if he can face sex charges.
According to court papers unsealed in federal court in Central Islip on Long Island, a neuropsychologist who examined Jeffries in October concluded that he likely has dementia with behavioral disturbance, Alzheimer’s disease, and Lewy body dementia.
The defense lawyers stated that cognitive impairments, including impaired memory, diminished attention, and processing speed slowness, make Jeffries incapable of assisting his attorneys.
A joint letter to the judge proposed a two-day competency hearing in June where experts who evaluated Jeffries would testify to determine his competency.
Jeffries, 80, is currently free on a $10 million bond after pleading not guilty to federal sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges in October.
Prosecutors allege that Jeffries, along with his romantic partner and another individual, lured men into drug-fueled sex parties by promising modeling opportunities for Abercrombie & Fitch.
In an indictment, prosecutors claimed that 15 accusers were coerced into sex parties from 2008 to 2015 in various locations, including the Hamptons, New York City, and international hotels.
Jeffries, who led Abercrombie for over two decades, left the company in 2014. The indictment also mentions instances where men were directed to wear costumes, use sex toys, and undergo painful penile injections.
