BEIRUT (AP) — Taking cover behind a large tree, an Associated Press photographer pointed his camera toward a Beirut apartment building the Israeli military warned was in its sights.
When a missile plunged from the sky moments later, journalist and lens were perfectly positioned to document the trail of destruction — second by second, frame by frame.
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Smoke rises from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
People react as smoke rises from a building that was hit by an Israeli missile in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
People watch a building collapse after being hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
People duck down as a missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
“I heard the sound of the missile whistling, headed toward the building and then I started filming,” photographer Bilal Hussein said Tuesday, hours after Israeli forces launched the attack. The images Hussein captured of the projectile, frozen in mid-flight before obliterating the structure, provide a striking look at the speed, power and devastation of modern warfare.
The strike on Tuesday came roughly 40 minutes after an Israeli military spokesman posted a warning in Arabic on social media, notifying people in and around a pair of buildings on Beirut’s southern outskirts that that they should evacuate the area.
He did not explain why the buildings were being targeted, other than to say they were near “interests and facilities” associated with the Hezbollah militant group.
The warning prompted many people to flee the busy, densely populated neighborhood, even as others, including a few journalists, kept watch. By the time of the attack the building had been evacuated and there were no reports of casualties Tuesday.
Minutes before the missile brought down the building, two smaller projectiles were fired at the roof in what Israel’s military often refers to as warning strikes, according to AP journalists at the scene. It is a practice Israel has followed in staging strikes in Gaza during past wars.
When the primary missile hurtled toward the building Tuesday it was a blur, but Hussein’s camera provided witness. One picture showed the missile arching through the air. Another captured it a fragment of a second before it smashed through a lower-floor balcony. In the images that followed, a cloud of smoke and debris billowed outward as the building collapsed.
Hussein, who has spent years covering conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon since joining the AP in 2004, says he has become accustomed to the sounds of explosions. The night before the building was destroyed, he filmed more than a dozen Israeli strikes nearby,
“I have the ability to control my reactions in critical moments and maintain stability as much as possible,” he said.
Smoke rises from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
People react as smoke rises from a building that was hit by an Israeli missile in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
People watch a building collapse after being hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
People duck down as a missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
A missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man were arrested Tuesday on charges of luring men into drug-laced, outlandish and coercive sex parties held around the world by dangling the promise of modeling for the retailer's once-defining beefcake ads.
For almost 20 years, Jeffries, his partner Matthew Smith and their employee James Jacobson used Jeffries’ status, wealth and a web of household staffers to fulfill the couple's sexual desires in what amounted to an international sex trafficking and prostitution business protected by secrecy, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in New York.
“Sexually exploiting vulnerable human beings is a crime. And doing so by dangling dreams of a future in fashion or modeling ... is no different,” Brooklyn-based U.S. attorney Breon Peace said at a news conference, calling the case a warning "to anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others by using the so-called casting couch system.”
The charges follow and sometimes echo sexual misconduct accusations made in lawsuits and the media by young people who said Jeffries promised modeling work and then pressed them into sex acts.
All three defendants appeared Tuesday in various courts — Jeffries and Smith in West Palm Beach, Florida, where they were taken into custody, and Jacobson in St. Paul, Minnesota, after his arrest in Wisconsin.
Jeffries wore a broad smile but didn’t comment as he left the courthouse after he was released on a $10 million bond. His attorney, Brian Bieber, also didn't comment.
Smith, who is a citizen of the United Kingdom, was ordered detained after prosecutors said they were concerned he might flee the country. His lawyers Joseph Nascimento and David Raben, said by email they would respond to the allegations in court.
Jacobson did not address the allegations during his court appearance in St. Paul, other than to tell the judge “I understand what they claim.” He was not asked to enter a plea and was ordered released on a $500,000 bond. Jacobson has said previously that he didn’t engage in or know about any coercive, deceptive or forceful behavior. Messages seeking comment were sent to Jacobson’s attorney.
The three defendants are charged with sex trafficking and interstate prostitution involving 15 unnamed accusers.
The case is the latest sex crime prosecution of a prominent and wealthy man — from Sean “Diddy” Combs to Harvey Weinstein — accused of abusing his position as a star or possible star-maker, though the status of the cases and important aspects of the allegations vary. An early accuser of the late Jeffrey Epstein said he groped her during a 1997 meeting arranged as a modeling interview for the Victoria’s Secret catalog.
James Dennehy, the assistant director of the FBI’s New York office, called the allegations “abhorrent.”
According to the indictment, the three paid for dozens of men to travel within the U.S. and internationally to engage in paid sex with them and other men in New York and at hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St. Barts between 2008 and 2015. The sometimes graphic indictment describes sexual bacchanals in which the recruited men were given drugs, lubricant, condoms, costumes, sex toys and, sometimes, erection-inducing penile injections that caused painful, hourslong reactions.
The men weren't told ahead of time what sexual practices they'd be expected to engage in, and they were required to give up their clothes and phones during the gatherings and sign non-disclosure agreements afterward, the indictment said. It said the men sometimes got itineraries like those sent to models for photo shoots, leaving the men in the dark about what they were signing up for.
The defendants led the men to believe that attending the events would help their careers, including their chances of getting Abercrombie modeling gigs — or that not complying could harm their prospects, the indictment says.
Jeffries and Smith employed Jacobson to recruit the men, who typically had to undergo “tryouts" by having sex with Jacobson first, according to the indictment. It says other, unnamed household staffers also helped facilitate the events, including by acting as security and providing alcohol, muscle relaxants, Viagra and other items.
The men were subjected to some sex acts without consent, and when witnesses threatened to expose what was going on, Jeffries and Smith used a security company to surveil and intimidate them into silence, according to a letter that prosecutors filed in court.
Peace said at the news conference that prosecutors have “a lot of evidence,” including travel records, financial documents and testimony from accusers and witnesses.
Jeffries became CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch in 1992 and left in 2014. The New Albany, Ohio-based company, which also encompasses Hollister, declined to comment on his arrest.
Prosecutors don't allege that the company's resources or property were used in the alleged sex scheme.
Abercrombie last year said it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation after the BBC reported on similar allegations from a dozen men.
A lawsuit filed in New York last year accused Abercrombie of allowing Jeffries to run a sex-trafficking organization during his 22-year tenure, with modeling scouts scouring the internet for victims. At the time, Bieber declined to comment on the allegations.
Abercrombie & Fitch traces its roots to a hunting and outdoors goods store that was founded in 1892. When Jeffries arrived a century later, the brand was a retail also-ran.
He was credited with transforming it into a darling of turn-of-the-millennium teen mall culture, known for its nouveau-preppy aesthetic — and for its sexy ads and store events featuring shirtless, muscular male models. Jeffries talked openly about how the company went after attractive kids who could fit into its clothes.
Those remarks alienated customers who didn't fit — literally or otherwise — the brand’s image, and the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession prompted some teens to look to less expensive “fast fashion” chains. A&F's popularity started to fade again.
By the time Jeffries left, the company's sales were slumping. A hedge fund had pushed the board to replace him.
A few months after his departure, the retailer announced it would stop using “sexualized” photos in marketing materials in its shops and calling store staffers “models.” The company told regional managers it wouldn't “tolerate discrimination based on body type or physical attractiveness.”
The company has rebounded in recent years.
AP writer Steve Karnowski in St. Paul, Minnesota contributed to this report.
Michael Jeffries, center, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, leaves with his attorney Brian Bieber, left, following a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Michael Jeffries, center, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, leaves with his attorney Brian Bieber, left, following a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Michael Jeffries, center, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, leaves the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse following a hearing, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Michael Jeffries, right, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, leaves with his attorney Brian Bieber, left, following a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, leaves following a hearing at the Paul G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace speaks during a press conference regarding the arrests of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his partners as part of sex trafficking investigation at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace speaks during a press conference regarding the arrests of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his partners as part of sex trafficking investigation at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace speaks during a press conference in regards to the arrests of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his partners as part of sex trafficking investigation at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office James Dennehy speaks during a press conference regarding the arrests of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his partners as part of sex trafficking investigation at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office James Dennehy speaks during a press conference in regards to the arrests of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his partners as part of sex trafficking investigation at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office James Dennehy speaks during a press conference regarding the arrests of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his partners as part of sex trafficking investigation at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace speaks during a press conference regarding the arrests of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his partners as part of sex trafficking investigation at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office James Dennehy speaks during a press conference regarding the arrests of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his partners as part of sex trafficking investigation at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Commanding officer of the NYPD, Deputy Chief Carlos Ortiz speaks during a press conference in regards to the arrests of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his partners as part of sex trafficking investigation at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace speaks during a press conference regarding the arrests of former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries and his partners as part of sex trafficking investigation at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - In this May 22, 2017, file photo, a store window reflects a street scene at an Abercrombie & Fitch store on New York's Fifth Avenue. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
FILE - Michael Jeffries, former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, speaks at the annual National Retail Federation conference on Jan. 13, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
