The former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO may be suffering from dementia and a competency hearing is needed to assess whether he can face sex charges, defense lawyers said.
Mike Jeffries, 80, chief executive of luxury retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for more than two decades, is free on $10m (£7.7m) bail. after pleading not guilty in October on federal charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution.
Jeffries' lawyers said in court documents unsealed Monday in New York federal court that a neuropsychologist who examined the defendant in October concluded he likely suffers from dementia with behavioral disturbances, Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies .
The lawyers wrote that the neuropsychologist concluded that cognitive impairments, including memory loss, decreased attention, slow processing speed and easy confusion, meant Jeffries would not be able to assist his lawyers .
In a joint letter to the judge, defense attorneys and prosecutors suggested that the experts who evaluated Jeffries testify at a two-day competency hearing in June so that a competency decision can be made.
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Prosecutors said in October that 15 accusers were induced by “force, fraud and coercion” to participate in drug-fueled sex parties where men were sometimes ordered to wear costumes, consume alcohol and muscle relaxants, use sex toys and endure painful erections. . induce injections into the penis.
According to the indictment, they also had to sign confidentiality agreements.
The events took place between 2008 and 2015 in the Hamptons, the Long Island resort where Jeffries has a home, as well as in hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St Barts, according to the indictment.
