Pittsburgh man accused of giving women drugs, forcing them to have sex with him and others

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A Pittsburgh man accused of drugging women and forcing them to have sex with him and others is behind bars. 

But what's most alarming is what he told police he'd do if he went without sex: "It will result in something bad like a mass shooting," he said.

People in the small Polish Hill neighborhood reacted to hearing the news of the arrest of Eric Jefferson. 

"It's sickening, really sickening," Montell Harrison said. "People like that shouldn't be out here on the streets." 

"There's weirdos everywhere out here," said Jerrae Leviege. "So it's just like you don't know. A weirdo could be standing right next to you."

Jefferson is accused of letting women stay at his house rent-free in exchange for drugs and sex.

According to the criminal complaint, the FBI surveilled the 39-year-old's home for two weeks around the clock before his arrest. During that time, they observed men coming and going from the house.

They said the men would meet a woman who lived there, walk around the side of the house and stay between 15 minutes to an hour.

The search of Jefferson's home turned up a cell phone that contained numerous pictures and videos of naked men.

"It's heart-wrenching," Harrison said. "I have nieces and friends and stuff. I actually went to school right up the street so something like that going on around here is definitely scary and something to be concerned about."

In an interview with police after his May 18 arrest, Jefferson said these women were addicted to narcotics so he would give them drugs in exchange for sex with him and other men.

He also stated he had a "verbal contract" with the woman to have sex with them while unconscious, record it and post it online.

The victims told police they did not consent to that. They said Jefferson would threaten them, take their money and deny them access to their cell phones. 

"I used to come to this park all the time, me and my little sisters. So to know something right across the street like that was going on, it's super scary. You never know what people are doing out here and you'd never expect it," Leviege said.

KDKA went to Jefferson's house, which is now for sale. The door was ajar, but no one answered.

A woman who works across the street at a senior center told KDKA she's shocked to learn something so disturbing has been going on right under her nose. She, like others in the neighborhood, is thankful he is off the streets.

"The more they lock them up, the more safer we can all be," Leviage said.

Jefferson is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bail. He's charged with multiple counts of rape, indecent assault and promoting prostitution.