The British partner of the former boss of the US fashion company Abercrombie & Fitch pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and pimping charges in a federal court in New York state on Tuesday. He was granted bail on $10 million.
Matthew Smith was taken into custody in the US state of Florida at the end of October after a high-profile arrest along with former CEO Michael Jeffries in New York. On Tuesday he appeared in court in Central Islip on Long Island, east of the New York metropolis.
The British citizen pleaded “not guilty to the charges of sex trafficking and promoting prostitution” and was “released on $10 million bail” provided by Mike Jeffries and his family, according to a statement from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. An AFP photographer saw Smith leaving the Central Islip courthouse wearing what appeared to be a large electronic GPS ankle bracelet. The next hearing in the case, ahead of a possible trial of Jeffries, Smith and a third defendant, James Jacobson, is Dec. 10.
Jeffries was also granted bail at the end of October on $10 million. The octogenarian, who was CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch from 1992 to 2014, is accused of setting up and maintaining a prostitution network in which he recruited men for sexual relationships with him and his partner Smith.
The alleged offenses span a period from 2008 to 2015. The indictment describes a “casting couch” system in which Jacobson “recruited” and “tested” young men around the world before matching them with the Jeffries-Smith couple . The victims were brought to the two men in New York and to hotels in England, France, Italy and Morocco in order to carry out sexual acts. Mike Jeffries faces life in prison. The alleged “recruiter” Jacobson also pleaded not guilty in October and was released on $500,000 bail.
Mike Jeffries took over the management of Abercrombie in 1992, which was then in great difficulty. He reinvented the company’s image and made it one of the most popular brands among young customers at the turn of the millennium. But in the early 2010s, the brand lost its luster, partly due to controversial statements by its boss, who in particular did not want to see “fat” people in the brand’s clothing. At the end of 2014 he was pressured to resign. (AFP)
This article previously appeared on Fashionunited.fr and was created using digital tools translated.
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