Michael Jeffries, the former top executive of Abercrombie & Fitch, has petitioned for a court hearing to assess his mental competency to stand trial regarding federal sex trafficking charges in New York.
During a court appearance on Tuesday in federal court on Long Island, an attorney representing Michael Jeffries filed a demand for a competence hearing.
The office of US Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York, which is prosecuting the case, stated that there was no discourse in court regarding the rationale behind Michael Jeffries’ request for the hearing.
His attorney, Brian Bieber, refrained from commenting further, indicating in an emailed response that the motion “will be addressed in court as, and when, deemed appropriate by the judge.”
U.S. District Judge Nusrat Choudhury granted Michael Jeffries’ attorneys until December 24 to submit additional evidence to the court, including the extent to which their application may be sealed, as stated by Mr. Peace’s office.
The judge scheduled February 6 for his attorneys to present a report from a physician assessing Michael Jeffries’ competency. Prosecutors must provide their own medical report by April 8.
No date was set for the actual hearing before the judge, Mr Peace’s office said. For now, Michael Jeffries is next due back in federal court in Central Islip on March 13.
US code allows judges to hold such a hearing if there is reasonable cause to believe that the defendant is suffering from a mental disease or defect that prevents them from understanding the nature of the proceedings against them, or assisting properly in their defence.
Michael Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man were arrested in October on charges of luring men into taking part in sex parties by dangling the promise of modelling for the clothing retailer, once famous for its preppy, all-American aesthetic and shirtless male models.
Michael Jeffries, 80, pleaded not guilty in October and is free on a 10 million-dollar (£7.84 million) bail bond. His partner Matthew Smith, 61, pleaded not guilty last week and was similarly released on bond with conditions including home detention and GPS monitoring.
The two are also limited to 125,000 dollars (£97,987) in monthly withdrawals from a trust set up for their benefit, and Smith, a dual American and British citizen, was ordered to surrender his passport.
The third man, James Jacobson, 71, was an employee of Jeffries and recruited men for the sex parties, according to prosecutors. He too has pleaded not guilty and remains free on a 500,000-dollar (£391,950) bond.
Michael Jeffries served as chief executive of Abercrombie from 1992 to 2014, presiding over the evolution of the company from its roots as a hunting and outdoor goods store founded in Manhattan in 1892 to a fixture of teenage shopping culture during the early 2000s.
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