Prosecutors charged Jeffries with coercing aspiring male models into sex acts by plying them with Viagra and blocking the exit

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has been arrested on sex trafficking charges, a spokesperson for federal prosecutors has said. 

Matthew Smith, Jeffries' partner, and a third man, James Jacobson, have also been arrested on the same charges. Jeffries and Smith were arrested in Florida and will appear in court on Tuesday afternoon in West Palm Beach.

Jacobson was arrested in Wisconsin. There was no immediate information on a court appearance. Abercrombie & Fitch has declined to comment on Jeffries' arrest.

At a news conference in New York, Breon Peace, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said Jeffries used his "power, his wealth and his influence, to traffic men for his own sexual pleasure and that of his romantic partner, Matthew Smith". Mr Peace said the indictment alleged Jeffries and Smith employed Jacobson "to act as a recruiter to find men". Jacobson would engage in "try outs with men across the world where he would typically pay them to engage in sex acts with him".