The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch has pleaded not guilty to charges related to human trafficking and prostitution

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – The former longtime CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges related to sex trafficking and interstate prostitution.

Michael Jeffries, 80, declined to comment after the request was filed in federal court in Central Islip, Long Island. He is free on $10 million bail and is scheduled for trial on December 12.

Prosecutors allege that Jeffries, his partner and a third man, 71-year-old James Jacobson, solicited men to attend sex parties for years by brandishing the promise of modeling for a clothing retailer once famous for its preppy, All-American aesthetic and marketing with male models without shirts.

Jacobson, who was Jeffries’ employee when prosecutors alleged the crime occurred, also pleaded not guilty and later declined to talk to reporters.

In charges announced earlier this week, prosecutors allege that 15 accusers were induced by “force, fraud and coercion” to attend drug-fueled sex parties in which men were sometimes told to wear costumes, use sex toys and experience painful erections. inducing penile injections.

According to the indictment, the events took place between 2008 and 2015 in the Hamptons, a wealthy summer resort on Long Island where Jeffries has a home, and at hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St. Barts.

The allegations are a repeat of sexual harassment allegations described in media reports and brought in a civil case against Jeffries, who left Abercrombie in 2014 after more than two decades leading the company.

Jeffries was released on bail after appearing in federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday. His collateral is a property he and his wife own on the expensive Fisher Island near Miami.