Pimp admits forcing five females into sex trade

A Southwest Philadelphia man who once told FBI agents that he was "hyped up" on the "pimp game" and looked up to other pimps pleaded guilty to sex-trafficking charges Wednesday, hours before his trial was to begin.

Jerel "Jinx" Jackson, 29, admitted forcing five females - including two minors - to work for him as prostitutes. He had dated many of them before turning them out, prosecutors said.

Jackson was quoted in court filings as telling one victim after dating her for two weeks, "You gonna have to work for me."

Jackson told the court Wednesday he operated his prostitution business out of several Philadelphia hotels in 2012 and 2013 and posted photos of the women nude or scantily clad in ads on the website backpage.com. He collected money after each sexual encounter by strip-searching or choking the women to ensure they were not holding back cash.

His hold on his victims did not end after his arrest in October 2013. As recently as this month, Jackson tried to contact two of the witnesses against him from prison using another inmate's identity, prosecutors said.

"During these calls, the defendant repeatedly made statements claiming that he did not force anyone to do anything and asking the witnesses to agree with his statements," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Morgan said in recent court filings.

Jackson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years at a hearing scheduled for June 10.