Pittsburgh Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Sex Trafficking Women
Monday, February 3, 2025, 7:35 A.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
PITTSBURGH, PA.- On Thursday, January 30, 2025, Eric Jefferson, 41, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan to 300 months in federal prison for his conviction of Sex Trafficking by Coercion, Force, and Threats of Violence.
In handing down the sentence on Thursday, Judge Ranjan heard from the victims and noted the heinousness of Jefferson’s conduct and its devasting impacts upon the victims.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Tony Rivetti and charging documents filed with the court, beginning around June 2019 and lasting through April 2022, Jefferson coerced and forced at least four women to perform commercial sex work for his financial benefit. Jefferson preyed on the women’s drug addictions by supplying them with illicit narcotics and then withholding the drugs if they refused to meet with clients, causing the women to become physically ill.
Jefferson also used violence and threats of violence to coerce and force the women to engage in the commercial sex trade.
“Eric Jefferson forced these women to earn money on his behalf, controlling the victims both through physical force and exploiting their dependence on narcotics,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tony Rivetti. “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will aggressively prosecute human traffickers such as Jefferson in order to protect and rescue the most vulnerable victims in our district.”
