They were all forced to wear Abercrombie clothes to events that were decorated as if it was an Abercrombie store... made to sign NDAs, told that if they ever disclosed this that bad things would happen to them, reputationally, financially, physically.
Many of the victims, at least one of whom was as young as 19 years old, were financially vulnerable and aspired to become models in the fashion industry, a notoriously cut-throat world,
Speaking up and coming forward is not easy,
For close to a decade, we have successfully transformed our brands and culture into the values-driven organization we are today,
As we shared when the accusations were first made public in October 2023, we are appalled and disgusted by the alleged behavior of Mr. Jeffries, whose employment with Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ended nearly ten years ago,
We filed our lawsuit because this case is not only meritorious but is one of the most egregious abuses of power we had ever seen,
Despite the alleged efforts of Jeffrey, Smith and Jacobson to conceal their crimes, efforts that included threatening victims and requiring them to sign nondisclosure agreements, among other things, their plan failed,
He used his role as CEO of Abercrombie to prey upon attractive young men who believed that Jeffries was going to hire them as an Abercrombie model — the pinnacle of the modeling industry for men during the relevant time period,
The defendants employed a referral system in an interview process that did not inform the men of the details of the sex events before they attended, including the full extent and nature of the sexual activity that would be required of the men at these events,
They spent millions of dollars on a massive infrastructure to support this operation, and to maintain its secrecy,
To anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others by using the so-called casting couch system, this case should serve as a warning: Prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison,
On more than one occasion, when men did not or could not consent, Jeffries and Smith violated the bodily integrity of these men by subjecting them or continuing to subject them to invasive sexual and violent contact,
Powerful individuals for too long have trafficked and abused for their own sexual pleasure young people with few resources,
Jeffries was so important to the profitability of the brand that he was given complete autonomy to perform his role as CEO however he saw fit, including through the use of blatant international sex-trafficking and abuse of prospective Abercrombie models,
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,
As we laid out in our lawsuit, this was an Abercrombie-run, sex trafficking organization that permeated throughout the company and allowed the three individuals arrested today to victimize dozens and dozens of young, aspiring male models.”
Today's arrests are monumental for the aspiring male models who were victimized by these individuals."
Their fight for justice does not end here. We look forward to holding Abercrombie and Fitch liable for facilitating this terrible conduct and ensuring that this cannot happen again,
I was not a human to any of these people. I was a body,
The courtroom is where we will deal with this matter."