Founder of GirlsDoPorn Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Charges: A California Porn Empire's Downfall
A California-based porn empire founder has admitted to sex trafficking charges in a federal court, as per authorities. Michael James Pratt, 42, made his plea in a San Diego federal court, facing a potential life sentence at his September 25 sentencing. Pratt, previously on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, was apprehended in Madrid in 2022 after evading sex trafficking accusations for three years. His organization is accused of enticing women with deceptive modeling offers. Federal prosecutors allege that Pratt and his associates utilized force, fraud, and coercion to recruit numerous women, many of whom were teenagers, for their adult videos.
Originally from New Zealand, Pratt established the now-defunct GirlsDoPorn website in San Diego. In 2019, he and others were indicted in San Diego on sex crime charges following a civil lawsuit by 22 women who claimed they were defrauded and had their contracts breached. The women asserted that they were given alcohol and marijuana before being pressured into signing a contract they were not allowed to read. Some reported being sexually assaulted and confined in hotel rooms against their will until the adult filming was completed. In 2020, a judge ruled in favor of the women, awarding a $12.7 million judgment against Pratt, Matthew Isaac Wolfe, and adult producer and performer Ruben Andre Garcia.
Wolfe, responsible for the day-to-day operations, finances, marketing, and filming for the website, pleaded guilty in 2022 to a single federal count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. He was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison last year. The other co-defendants also entered guilty pleas, with Garcia receiving a 20-year prison term and cameraman Theodore Gyi sentenced to four years. Valorie Moser, a former bookkeeper for the website, pleaded guilty last year and is set to be sentenced on September 12.
In conclusion, the founder of the California-based porn empire, GirlsDoPorn, has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges in a federal court. The case involves allegations of force, fraud, and coercion in recruiting women for adult videos, leading to legal actions and convictions for multiple individuals involved in the operation.