The founder of Girlsdoporn, Michael Pratt, known for once being on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list, has pleaded guilty to charges of sex trafficking after evading capture for three years.
At 42 years old, Pratt was accused of deceiving or coercing hundreds of women, primarily teenagers, into appearing in pornographic videos by masquerading as a private casting call for a modeling opportunity, as stated by the Justice Department.
He fled the U.S. in 2019, eventually taking refuge in Spain until his arrest in December 2022.
A native of New Zealand, Pratt began his operations in San Diego in 2012 alongside several co-defendants, many of whom have also been convicted.
According to the reports, women were invited under the pretense of auditioning for modeling gigs, only to find out that they would be filmed for adult entertainment instead.
Pratt reportedly misled the women, assuring them that their videos would not be distributed online or shared with those in their personal lives, which turned out to be false claims.
Should anyone express a desire to withdraw from participating, Pratt and his associates would resort to threats, mentioning legal action, flight cancellations, or even posting videos online without consent.
Both Girlsdoporn and its affiliated site, Girlsdotoys, showcased similar content featuring many of the same women, accumulating millions of views and promoting these videos extensively on popular adult platforms like Pornhub.
Prosecutors revealed that Pratt profited “millions of dollars” from this adult content, mostly filmed in hotels around San Diego and through short-term rental arrangements.
In one case, a young woman responded to a Craigslist ad, believing she would be part of a project titled “Cast of Bubble Gum,” with assurances that the produced video would be restricted to her private Australian clients. Prosecutors noted that Pratt rushed her through the contract without providing her a copy.
After filming a sex scene for $2,000, the video was posted online without her consent just nine months later. Despite her attempts to contact Pratt to remove it, he ignored her and deleted the video instead.
Pratt was extradited to San Diego in March 2024, where he admitted to orchestrating a sex trafficking ring from 2012 to 2019, allegedly earning more than $17 million from his illicit activities.
He faces a potential life sentence, with sentencing scheduled for September 8th.
In related developments, co-founder Matthew Isaac Wolf was sentenced to 14 years in prison in March 2024, while male model Reuben Andre Garcia received a 20-year sentence in 2021 concerning similar matters. Additionally, photographer Theodore GYI has been sentenced to four years as of November 9, 2022.
The office manager, Valorie Moser, is set for sentencing on September 12, 2025.
