PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (WHTM) — A Philadelphia man was sentenced on Friday to 25 years in prison for sex trafficking four minors.

According to court documents and the United States Department of Justice, from at least February 2016 to 2017, 35-year-old Andre Felts of Philadelphia led a prostitution ring and trafficked at least four minors between 15 and 17 years old.

Felts kept much of the money paid to the victims. Felts, along with others, posted advertisements on the internet for commercial sex with minors, provided transportation for the encounters, and identified locations for commercial sex acts to occur.

The Justice Department co-defendants Ryan Keel and Kevin Francis allowed Felts to use their homes for sex encounters with the minors in exchange for a portion of the money.

The Justice Department said on one occasion, Felts assaulted a minor victim.

Felts, along with being sentenced to 25 years in prison, was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.

Keel was sentenced to 11 years and three months which is to be followed by 10 years of supervised release back on May 31. On July 27, 2022, Francis was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, according to the Justice Department.

All three defendants were ordered to jointly pay $235,000 in restitution to the victims as part of their sentences. The FBI investigated the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, which is an initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual abuse and exploitation,