An alleged street gang member accused of running a prostitution ring that recruited high school girls has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking of a juvenile.

Justin Strom entered his plea Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria, Va. He faces a maximum life sentence.

Strom admitted being part of a Fairfax County-based offshoot of the Crips street gang and to recruiting at least eight underage girls to engage in prostitution.

Strom and four others were charged in March with running a prostitution business. All five have now pleaded guilty.

Neil MacBride, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, told reporters afterward that the case shows that sex traffickers in the state will be arrested, prosecuted and punished with long prison sentences.