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East ceo abercrombie and fox fur He faces a court hearing in March to determine whether he is competent to stand trial on sex trafficking charges after being hospitalized in recent months for dementia and Alzheimer’s symptoms.
U.S. District Court Judge Nusrat Chaudhary said Thursday that if Michael Jeffries is found mentally healthy, he could get his day in court by the end of October.
“We are aiming for a trial this fall,” he said in a phone conference that included Jeffries, two other defendants in the case and their attorneys.
Jeffries pleaded not guilty last year to federal charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution, echoing allegations of sexual misconduct made in a civil case and media in recent years.
Prosecutors say Jeffries, her romantic partner and a third man used the promise of modeling jobs to lure men to drug-fueled sex parties. new york City, Hampton and other locations.
Federal prison officials said in a court filing Wednesday that Jeffries is mentally healthy after spending nearly four months at the Federal Medical Center in Butner. North Carolina,
The 81-year-old man is “capable of understanding the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him and of rendering appropriate assistance in his defence,” the prison’s acting warden wrote in a document titled “Certificate of Restoration of Competency”.
But Jeffries’ lawyers on Thursday disputed the assessment and urged Choudhury to hold a hearing to hear from other medical experts.
Jeffries’ attorney Brian Bieber said defense attorneys expect to call at least three experts to testify on his mental state. Prosecutors said they expect to call two of their own.
Defense attorneys previously said Jeffries requires around-the-clock care because he suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia and a traumatic brain injury.
At least four medical professionals concluded that Jeffries’ cognitive issues were “progressive and incurable” and that he “will never regain his competency and cannot be restored to competency in the future,” lawyers previously wrote to the court.
Bieber did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday. He previously said he and his client were “waiting for the judge to hear the medical evidence and decide on the appropriate action to take moving forward.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York declined to comment.
Jeffries left Abercrombie in 2014 after more than two decades at the helm. His partner, Matthew Smith, has also been charged and has pleaded not guilty, as has his co-defendant, James Jacobson.