ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - A gang leader who ran a teen prostitution ring that aggressively recruited high-school girls and took them door to door to solicit sex throughout northern Virginia has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Continue reading

Twenty-seven-year-old Justin Strom of Lorton was a member of the Underground Gangster Crips and is the last of five members to be sentenced in federal court in Alexandria for his role in the operation.

Strom's 40-year term was the most of any defendant but less than the life term sought by prosecutors.

The U.S. Attorney in Alexandria, Neil MacBride, said Strom used flattery and fraud to lure girls into prostitution. He threatened the girls and plied them with drugs to keep them from leaving.

Strom's lawyer said his client is "overwhelmed with feelings of guilt."