In a sentencing deemed a win for the fight against human trafficking, Pittsburgh's Eric Jefferson, 41, received a 25-year prison sentence for sex trafficking multiple women. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, this case was presided over by United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, who, after hearing the harrowing experiences of the victims, highlighted the egregiousness of Jefferson's actions.

Jefferson's conviction was for coercing at least four women into commercial sex work from June 2019 to April 2022, exploiting their addiction to narcotics to control them. If these women refused his commands, Jefferson would withhold drugs, effectively using their withdrawal symptoms as a punitive measure. Moreover, he did not hesitate to employ violence, and threats thereof, as a means to secure his financial gain from their forced labor.

The U.S. Attorney's Office released a statement in which Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti commended the collaborative efforts that led to Jefferson's prosecution, "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." The FBI and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police were particularly instrumental in the investigation that culminated in Jefferson's conviction.

This case is a notable success within Operation T.E.N. (Trafficking Ends Now), a coalition of law enforcement, community groups, and nonprofit organizations across the Western District of Pennsylvania aimed at eradicating human trafficking via education, improved collaboration, and provision of resources to empower survivors. During sentencing, Judge Ranjan heard from the victims, with the harrowing impacts of Jefferson's crimes laid bare before the court.