A federal jury has convicted three Charlotte men of operating a drug and prostitution ring in which 10 girls- some as young as 14, had sex with as many as 10 men a night. The escort service was run by the Howard boys' mother, Ila Mae Howard, 42. (R) She pleaded guilty in federal court before the trial began and is awaiting sentencing. 
Tracy McDaniel Howard, 21, (L) David Leonarde Howard, 25, (R) and Nicholas Jermaine Ragin, 25, (Bottom L) each face mandatory minimum sentences of at least 10 years in prison and could be sent away for life- as they should be!
If you search the Mecklenburg County arrest records, you will see this crime was not the first for any of the boys involved. Clearly, they had no parental guidance so if they are released from jail- I am sure a lifetime of crime is ahead. 
According to a News 14 Carolina article, the three were convicted after a 3 week trial that ended Friday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Marston stated that the six girls told jurors customers at apartment complexes paid $25 for 15 minutes of sex with them. The girls were also driven to homes and hotels in Lake Norman, Ballantyne, and uptown Charlotte, including the Westin, to have sex with men who paid $200 each, Marston said.
Marston said the girls testified that they worked for the brothers at North Pointe, Maple Run and The Park apartments. They also said they did some work at a place on Eastway Drive nicknamed "Little Mexico," which was torn down in 2004 because of what authorities called Third World-country living conditions.
The three men were found guilty of conspiracy to commit coercion and enticement of women, including juveniles, to engage in prostitution, as well as conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute over 50 grams of crack cocaine.
"This case demonstrated how devastating prostitution, drug trafficking and gun toting can be for the Charlotte community," U.S. Attorney Gretchen Shappert said in a written statement. "The victims were preyed upon by individuals with no regard for their dignity."
One girl told jurors that she ran away but was caught after three weeks and beaten with a belt. The girls testified that they kept none of the money they made, according to Marston. Six girls said they were teenage runaways when they went to work for the Howard brothers between 2001 and 2004. Others were older women addicted to drugs or with mental health issues. The girls said they were given food, clothing and a place to live but were forced to prostitute themselves.
Ragin was responsible for driving the girls to work and sometimes lived with them to monitor them, Marston said.A fourth man, Oscar Mario Solano-Sanchez, 47,(R) was also convicted during the trial that ended Friday. He was found guilty of drug conspiracy.
Sources:
The Charlotte Observer
News 14 Carolina
WSOC-TV