Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO pleads not guilty in sex trafficking case

A defense attorney entered a plea of not guilty Friday on behalf of Michael Jeffries, the former Abercrombie & Fitch chief who was charged with sex trafficking and 15 counts of interstate prostitution.
Jeffries’ wife and son were present in the courtroom and signed the $10 million bond secured by the defendant’s home in New York. He must remain on home confinement, electronic monitoring and no contact with his co-defendants, witnesses or victims.
A different attorney entered a not guilty plea on behalf of James Jacobson, who was accused of recruiting models Jeffries and his partner Matthew Smith allegedly trafficked and forced into sex acts. He was released on a $500,000 bond.
The next court appearance for the defendants is Dec. 12.
There is no date as yet for Smith’s arraignment. Earlier this week, during an appearance in Florida, Smith had consented to remand with the right to make a bail application in the future.
The three defendants were arrested Tuesday as part of a criminal investigation into the alleged sex trafficking of more than a dozen victims, according to the FBI and federal prosecutors.
They are accused of operating an international sex trafficking and prostitution business that recruited young men for parties in the U.S. and abroad, according to a 16-count indictment.
Jeffries and Smith relied on their vast financial resources, Jeffries’ power as the CEO of Abercrombie, and numerous people, including Jacobson and a network of employees, contractors and security professionals, to run a business “that was dedicated to fulfilling their sexual desires and ensuring that their international sex trafficking and prostitution business was kept secret,” the indictment alleges.
Federal prosecutors said the trio allegedly paid dozens of men to travel around the world to engage in sex acts over at least a seven-year period, starting in late 2008. The indictment mentions 15 alleged victims, identified as John Does #1-#15. Jeffries allegedly recruited, hired and paid a slate of household staff to “facilitate and supervise the Sex Events.”
Prosecutors and the FBI believe there are many more victims and asked them to come forward.
Jacobson allegedly traveled throughout the United States and internationally to recruit and interview men for the so-called sex events, according to prosecutors. During “tryouts” of potential candidates, Jacobson required the candidates first engage in sex acts with him, prosecutors said.
The indictment alleges that many of the men were coerced, led to believe that attending the events would yield modeling opportunities with Abercrombie or otherwise benefit their careers, or, in the alternative, that not complying with requests for certain acts during the sex events could harm their careers.
Following their arrest, Brian Bieber, an attorney for Jeffries, and Joe Nascimento, an attorney for Smith, told ABC News in identical statements following their arrest, “We will 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.”
An attorney for Jacobson declined ABC News’ request for comment following his arrest.