TOWN OF ISLIP, N.Y. -- Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries appeared in a Long Island courtroom Friday to face sex trafficking and prostitution charges.
He pleaded not guilty. A judge granted him a $10 million bond package. Jeffries put up his New York country home as collateral.
His conditions of release include home confinement, electronic monitoring, and not being in contact with his co-defendants, witnesses, or alleged victims. Some of his alleged victims were also in the courtroom. Jeffries looked back at them.
He's due back in court on Dec. 12. Jeffries was arrested earlier this week , along with his romantic partner Matthew Smith and another man, James Jacobson.
Jeffries and Jacobson are scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon in Central Islip. The 16-count indictment alleges Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson operated an international sex trafficking and prostitution ring from approximately 2008 to 2015. Prosecutors say Jeffries and Smith paid for dozens of men to travel around the country and world "for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts.
" "They spent millions of dollars on a massive infrastructure to support this operation," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Breon Peace said earlier this week .
If found guilty, they could face 15 years to life in prison. Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO arrested Jeffries is accused of leveraging his position as CEO to lure young men into sex by suggesting they could become models for the fashion comp.
