Former Abercrombie CEO mentally fit for sex-trafficking trial, judge says

The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch has been ruled mentally competent to stand trial as he faces sex-trafficking charges after being hospitalized for months for dementia and Alzheimer’s symptoms.Michael Jeffries, who is 82 and free on bond for now, is scheduled to be tried in late October, alongside two co-defendants: his partner Matthew Smith and staffer James Jacobson. A pretrial hearing was slated for Thursday.US district court judge Nusrat Choudhury concluded that Jeffries “clearly possesses a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings” and is a “reasonably intelligent person and skilled communicator” following his stay at a federal prison hospital in Butner, North Carolina.The federal judge on Long Island, New York, said she reviewed testimony and written reports from medical experts and listened to hours of phone calls Jeffries made to his romantic partner, lawyers and others while in custody.“His presentation and responses in evaluations following his commitment to Butner and his phone calls show that he understands the structure of the criminal legal system, courtroom procedures, the functions of the various participants, the nature and purpose of the proceedings, and key legal concepts,” Choudhury wrote in her decision on Thursday.Jeffries’ lawyer declined to comment.“We do not comment on the Judge’s rulings,” Brian Bieber wrote in an email. “The case, and all related issues, will be tried inside the courtroom – not in the media.”Jeffries’s lawyers had argued that he required around-the-clock care to deal with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia and a traumatic brain injury. They had medical experts testify in court that Jeffries’s cognitive issues were “progressive and incurable” and that he would not “regain his competency”.That prompted Choudhury to order Jeffries to be hospitalized to see if his mental condition would improve. After spending about four months in Butner, federal prison officials in December deemed Jeffries mentally fit to stand trial.Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson have pleaded not guilty to federal charges, including sex trafficking and interstate prostitution.Prosecutors say the three used the promise of modeling jobs to lure men to drug-fueled sex parties in New York City, the Hamptons and other locations. The criminal case echoes sexual misconduct accusations made in a civil case and in the media in recent years.Jeffries left Abercrombie in 2014 after more than two decades. He’s credited with transforming the New York retailer, originally founded to sell wilderness gear, into a mainstay of teen mall culture in the early 2000s with its preppy youth aesthetic and sexy marketing.