Claim of dementia could derail former Abercrombie CEO's sex trafficking case

Claim of dementia could derail former Abercrombie CEO's sex trafficking case toggle caption Heather Khalifa/AP A letter from former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries' legal team, filed this week, claims that he may not be fit to stand trial in his ongoing sex trafficking case due to an alleged diagnosis of late-onset Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The document, filed in New York and reviewed by NPR, details how 80-year-old Jeffries underwent an in-depth neuropsychological evaluation in October, after his attorney Brian Bieber began noticing a questionable level of "attentiveness, focus, competency, and understanding of the legal and factual issues being discussed." Sponsor Message Jeffries was arrested in October as part of a federal investigation into a sex trafficking and interstate prostitution case that spans years of alleged abuse from 2008 to 2015. It's not the first time neurocognitive decline has been cited as a potential roadblock for a sexual abuse case: Former adult film star Ron Jeremy, who had pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of sexual assault, including 12 counts of rape, had his trial paused last year when a California judge declared him incompetent to stand trial following similar health issues to Jeffries.