Two Virginia men pleaded guilty on Thursday for helping run a prostitution business that recruited and trafficked high school girls.

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Michael Tavon Jefferies, aka "Loc," 21, of Woodbridge, Va., and Christopher Sylvia, 23, of Springfield, Va., pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a juvenile. They each face a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Jefferies admitted to being a member of the Underground Gangster Crips (UGC), which was the gang involved in sex trafficking of both juveniles and adults from April 2009 through March 2012.

Jefferies served as a bodyguard for the UGC prostitution enterprise and collected the money received from prostitution, providing a portion to another member of UGC and keeping a portion for himself, authorities say. Jefferies also admitted to paying for an advertisement on Backpage.com to solicit customers and paying for hotel rooms for one of the juvenile prostitutes.

Sylvia admitted that he was part of UGC and assisted the gang in transporting juveniles in November 2011 and January 2012 as they engaged in prostitution on behalf of the gang, authorities say.