A biochemist is facing multiple charges after authorities said he’s a serial rapist who drugged and sexually battered multiple women in his luxury Miami Beach condo. NBC 6’s Ari Odzer reports
A biochemist is facing multiple charges after authorities said he's a serial rapist who drugged and sexually battered multiple women in his luxury Miami Beach condo.
Jeremy D. Bittner, 41, was arrested Monday on several counts of sexual battery, false imprisonment and possession of a controlled substance, Miami-Dade jail records showed.
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The charges stem from incidents involving three different women dating back to 2022, according to arrest reports.
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All of the alleged incidents happened at Bittner's luxury condo building in the 1300 block of West Avenue, the reports said.
"The way I would categorize him is, is an individual who victimized at least three women. He has caused pain and suffering that will last for the remainder of their life I'm sure. Thankfully these women were brave enough to come forward," Miami Beach Police spokesperson Ernesto Rodriguez said. "Ultimately our goal is to ensure that this man stays behind bars."
One alleged victim, a 47-year-old woman, told investigators she'd been sexually battered by Bittner on Jan. 30, 2022, the reports said.
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The woman said she'd met Bittner in April or May of 2020 and considered him a friend since she knew him to be married.
He later told her he and his wife had separated and the two started to hang out, but when he tried to have sex with her, she refused his advances, the reports said.
On the day of the alleged incident, Bittner asked the woman to come over and have some wine, but she said when she got there, he was smoking crack and ingesting cocaine and offered her ecstasy, according to the police reports.
She refused the drugs but accepted a glass of wine, then said she began to feel drowsy and felt like he had drugged her drink, the reports continue to say.
That's when Bittner allegedly sexually battered her as she tried to get him to stop.
"Due to her altered state, believed to be the result of being drugged, she was unable to defend herself," the reports said.
The woman was able to fight him off eventually and left his home.
Bittner later told detectives it was consensual and denied drugging the woman, according to the three police reports.
The police reports also include a second alleged victim, a 25-year-old woman, who said she was sexually battered by Bittner on Oct. 29, 2022.
The woman said she was living in Rome, Italy, and searching for a place to rent in Miami Beach when she was contacted by Bittner who offered her a room in his apartment for $1,500 per month.
She agreed and arrived in Miami where Bittner picked her up at the airport.
When she arrived at his apartment, she saw a table in the living room covered with drugs.
The woman said Bittner ingested cocaine and then became physically violent, yanking her head then grabbing a gun and telling her "go along with the program," the reports said.
Bittner grabbed her by her neck and pushed her onto his couch then removed her clothes and sexually battered her, the report details.
The woman said she tried to fight him off but was unsuccessful but she was eventually able to contact an acquaintance by phone, who responded and picked her up.
Bittner told detectives that encounter was also consensual, the reports said.
A third victim, a 34-year-old woman, told police she was drugged and sexually battered by Bittner on Feb. 4 of this year, the reports said.
The woman said she was in her condo waiting for an elevator when she was approached by Bittner. They engaged in small talk and exchanged phone numbers and he later sent her a text asking if she wanted to have drinks so she agreed, the reports said.
She went to his condo where he offered her cocaine but she declined, so he made her a vodka and ginger ale, the reports said.
The woman said she had a small amount but said she began to feel "extremely relaxed," the reports said.
At one point, Bittner forcefully poured liquid into her mouth, and her next memory was waking up on his couch as Bittner grabbed her by the neck, the reports said.
She fought him off and left the home but after she left, Bittner texted her photos he took of her while she slept on his sofa, the reports said.
The woman later found video on her phone of her confronting Bittner and asking why he'd drugged her, the reports said.
In the video, she told him she didn't want to be drugged and he replied "Then why did you let yourself?" the reports reads.
The woman later purchased an over-the-counter drug test which revealed cocaine in her system, which she never voluntarily ingested.
Bittner told detectives his encounter with the woman wasn't sexual and said he was "merely being nice" to her.
News quickly spread around the neighborhood Tuesday night. Jessi Lane lives nearby but has a friend who lives at the Waverly Condominium.
"You hope that these things don’t happen but to hear about something like that is very scary,” Lane said. "It's absolutely disgusting and horrific."
A woman who only wanted to be identified as Vivian said not only does she live in the same building as Bittner, she's seen him several times before and had her own encounter with him.
“He was always kind of like lurking around, always stays in the elevator a little bit longer, wants to talk to you in the elevator that kind of thing,” Vivian said. "He did rub me the wrong way, he did like follow me and I was kind of worried if he lives in the building, so I can’t believe it."
Three frightening encounters have left many people who live in the condo feeling uneasy.
"Oh my God, he was definitely was with a lot of women, different women,” Vivian said. “Very scary, very alarming because it’s a very quiet building, very family-oriented, not crazy or anything like that but wow.”
Bittner appeared in court Tuesday where he was ordered held without bond. Attorney information wasn't available.
