Three Chillicothe men were in custody on Tuesday in connection with a sex traffickingbusiness.
The U.S. Attorney's office told 10TV News that Robert Harris, Richard Johnson and Jacob Tylerhelped get girls from Ross County to Millersville, Md., where they would charge people to have sexwith them, 10TV's Andy Hirsch reported.
Harris, 21, Johnson and Tyler, both 22, allegedly used a U.S. Army soldier's former apartment asa headquarters for the sex organization.
Federal agents showed up at Malik Wahid's Chillicothe home on Tuesday where they were trying tofind his son, Harris.
"I was shocked at first," Wahid said. "First of all, there were federal Marshals at mydoor. Second of all, when they told me the charges and what my son was doing. I didn'tbelieve it and I'm still not going to believe it today because I know my son. I know he's notgoing to do anything like this."
According to the indictment, Harris, Johnson, Tyler and a fourth man, Craig Corey II, did"knowingly persuade, induce, entice and coerce" women into prostitution.
The indictment also claimed that -- in at least two cases -- the men arranged for girls fromChillicothe, including a 16-year-old, to go to Maryland to have sex with customers where Corey, thealleged ringleader, lives.
Court records stated that Corey used Craigslist and other Web sites to promote the prostitutionbusiness and to "recruit females to serve as prostitutes."
Wahid convinced Harris to turn himself in on Tuesday because he maintained the only thing Harrisis guilty of is associating with the wrong crowd.
"I just want him to know that he's got his family's support," Wahid said.
Corey is in custody in Maryland while the other three men were scheduled to appear in federalcourt in Columbus on Thursday morning, Hirsch reported.
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