Clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) says it is exploring affirmations against its previous CEO.
Mike Jeffries has been blamed of misusing men at sex occasions he facilitated around the world.
A BBC examination found an composed arrange utilized a go between to select youthful grown-up men for the occasions with Mr Jeffries and his accomplice Matthew Smith, with a few charging they were manhandled.
Mr Jeffries and Mr Smith did not react to demands for comment.
A&F – which runs almost 850 stores around the world, counting its Hollister brand – said that since being reached by the BBC it had locked in an “exterior law firm to conduct an autonomous examination” into the claims. It said it was “horrified and nauseated” by the affirmed conduct.
It has already portrayed Mr Jeffries as the modern-day originator of the company, after he changed the brand from a falling flat legacy outfitter within the 1990s to a multi-billion-dollar high schooler retailer. He ventured down in 2014 taking after declining deals and cleared out with a retirement bundle esteemed at around $25m (£20.5m), agreeing to company filings at the time.
BBC Panorama detailed that within the months some time recently Mike Jeffries’ exit, a annuity support contributed in A&F brought lawful procedures in which it claimed the company had paid out settlements after charges of “offense” by its then-CEO.
A source, who talked on condition of namelessness, said he had seen inside reports depicting payoffs for staff and office laborers who had complained approximately Mr Jeffries’ conduct. The source said he did not know the nature of the complaints.
BBC Scene inquired A&F on the off chance that the complaints were of a sexual nature, but the company denied to reply.
After the BBC revealed its investigation into claims of abuse at sex events, A&F stated that it did not know about the allegations of sexual misconduct. The company also mentioned that its new leadership had changed the organization into one that focuses on core values.
The BBC investigation for two years found out that Mr. Jeffries used men for sex at parties he organized at his fancy homes in New York and fancy hotels in various places like London, Paris, Venice, and Marrakesh.
Twelve men said they went to or helped plan events with sex acts for the fashion mogul, who is 79 years old, and his British partner, who is 60 years old, from 2009 to 2015.
The eight men who went to the events mentioned that they were hired by a middleman. They described this middleman as a person whose nose was not there and had a patch made of snakeskin. The BBC found out that his name is James Jacobson.
Half of the men who spoke to the BBC about being recruited claimed that they were either deceived at first about what the events were about or they were not informed that sex was part of it. Some people thought they knew that the events would involve sex, but they weren’t sure of the specific details. Everyone got money.
Mr Jacobson said he didn’t do anything wrong and explained that the men were fully aware of the events they were involved in.
Men who went to these events informed the BBC that Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Smith would have sexual activity with about four men or instruct them to have sex with each other. Then, the men explained that the people working at the event gave them envelopes containing lots of money.
David Bradberry, who was 23 at the time, met Mr. Jacobson in 2010 through an agent. The agent said that Mr. Jacobson had connections to the people who own A&F, but did not mention anything about sex. During their meeting, he mentioned that Mr. Jacobson suggested Bruce Weber, who was the photographer for A&F at that time, to take his picture.
Then, Bradberry explained that Jim told him that if he didn’t let Jim give him oral sex, he wouldn’t be able to meet with Abercrombie & Fitch or Mike Jeffries. Bradberry said he felt unable to move or take any action.
In hindsight, he realized that this incident should have been a warning sign. However, at the time, he only thought Mr. Jacobson was a strange and older man whom he believed he wouldn’t encounter again.
Mr Bradberry agreed to go to a daytime event at Mr. Jeffries’ old house in the Hamptons on Long Island, New York. The house was recently sold for $29 million. When he was there, he told Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Smith about his dreams of becoming an A&F model. Afterwards, he explained that Mr. Jeffries inhaled a drug called “poppers” which can make someone feel dizzy and confused, and then they had sexual intercourse.
Barrett Pall said he was forced to go to a party in the Hamptons in 2011. He was 22 years old when an older person asked him to replace them in a sexual experience with a couple. The older person got paid for referring him. He said he agreed because the older model had helped him with money and he felt like he owed him.
Mr Pall said that the older model advised him that he doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to do. However, it also hinted that the more effort he puts in, the more successful he may become. It also mentioned potential job prospects. When he got to the event, he mentioned that he felt stressed and pressured to do well. At some point, Mr. Pall said that Mr. Jeffries was touching him inappropriately from behind.
“He said that this experience has made me feel completely shattered. ” I believe that this completely took away any remaining innocence I had. It made me feel mentally confused or distressed. But now that I have the ability to communicate like I do today, I can say that someone treated me unfairly.
The biggest event that the BBC talked about happened at a fancy hotel in 2011. A private villa in the hotel was used for the event. Many men were brought to Marrakesh for this event. The BBC knows that Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Smith had also asked their friends to come. Alex, whose name was changed to keep him anonymous, said he was a model who was having a hard time financially and taking care of his family. He was asked to be a dancer at the event, and he thought he might have to take off his clothes.
Alex, a young man in his 20s, said that Mr. Jacobson, who was conducting auditions, admired his dancing but asked him to perform a sexual act on him in order to be selected. Alex said, “I owed money and I wanted to help my family. ” “I did the job and I was really grossed out. ”
Thinking that the most difficult part had already been done, Alex traveled to Marrakesh for the event a few weeks later. But while he was dancing, Mr. Jeffries attempted to kiss him. I wanted to be involved without upsetting him. “I felt really uncomfortable,” Alex shared.
Finally, he explained that he went to hide in a room at the back and then fell asleep. Alex said that when he woke up, he found a condom inside his body and was worried that someone had put something in his drink earlier.
When I gather my thoughts, I strongly suspect that someone may have put drugs in my drink and sexually assaulted me. “He said he will most likely never know the true answer of what happened. ”
A lawyer, who looked at the BBC’s evidence, suggests that US prosecutors should look into whether the actions described by these “brave men” could be considered as sex trafficking. According to the rules in the United States, sex trafficking means forcing or tricking a grown-up to go to another place, like a different state or country, to have sex with someone in exchange for money.
Brad Edwards said that some of the men may have been forced to do something against their will, while others may not have felt forced.
He also mentioned that Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Smith could argue that the men involved were adults who agreed to the situation. He also mentioned that the fact that some of them had engaged in paid sex before could be considered, but he believes that their past actions are not important when determining if the commercial sex act was forced, fraudulent, or coerced.
Mr Edwards said it is crucial for federal prosecutors to investigate this case because of the testimonies from these courageous men. He also mentioned that the prosecutors have a very high standard of evidence to meet.
The BBC tried many times to get in touch with Mr. Jeffries and Mr. They sent letters, emails, and made phone calls over several weeks. The BBC wanted to give them a chance to respond to a long list of accusations so that they understood what they were being accused of. They did not answer.
Mr Jacobson, who is 70 years old, said through his lawyer that he was upset by the idea that he had done anything wrong or forced someone to do something against their will. He also claimed that he didn’t know about anyone else doing anything like that.
He said he couldn’t remember making promises about modeling jobs. “He said that all of my interactions were voluntary and not forced,” he stated. “Everyone I met who went to these events knew exactly what they were getting into. “