Mahender "Mike" Singh was sentenced in federal court yesterday to nine years in federal prison for pimping out four teenage girls, two of whom were underage, via local motels and the internet. Singh pleaded guilty to sex-trafficking conspiracy charges in relation to his mini prostitution ring, which ended at a South San Francisco Travelodge last September.

Singh, 40, along with his 22-year-old wife Helen Jean Singh, lured the girls with promises of money and a "family-like environment," and then used drugs and violence to hold them captive. They operated out of motels in San Jose and South San Francisco. Helen Singh has not yet been sentenced, and faces the same charges.

[Tribune]