Michael Pratt, the former owner of the website GirlsDoPorn, has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges in a federal court in San Diego. Pratt faced accusations related to a scheme that involved deceiving and coercing young women into appearing in pornographic videos.
Pratt was charged in October 2019 with crimes related to sex trafficking. After liquidating his assets, he fled the United States in mid-2019 and was subsequently listed on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list. He lived as an international fugitive until his arrest in Spain in December 2022 and extradition to San Diego in March 2024.
Court documents reveal that Pratt and his associates used force, fraud, and coercion to recruit hundreds of young women, mostly teenagers, for videos on GirlsDoPorn. Pratt admitted guilt to two counts: conspiracy to commit sex trafficking from 2012 to 2019 and sex trafficking involving a victim identified as Victim 1 in May 2012.
Pratt confessed that he owned and operated GirlsDoPorn, recruiting women for their first pornographic video appearances. He also recruited Matthew Wolfe around 2012 to help run both GirlsDoPorn and its offshoot GirlsDoToys. Both websites were managed from a shared office in San Diego.
The business promoted its content through free porn sites like Pornhub.com, gaining millions of views. Women were often misled into believing their videos would not be published online or discovered by acquaintances. Pratt also recruited Ruben Andre Garcia as a male model who engaged with the women on camera while falsely reassuring them about the privacy of their work.
Pratt's methods included using "Reference Girls" to convince prospective models of false promises regarding video distribution. The operation concealed its true nature by using innocuous business names such as “Begin Modeling” or “BLL Media.” Videos were primarily shot at hotels or short-term rentals in San Diego.
Victims who attempted to withdraw from filming faced threats of lawsuits or having their flights canceled unless they completed the videos. Despite knowing that personal information of some models was leaked online, Pratt continued misleading new recruits about privacy protections.
In connection with Count Two involving Victim 1, Pratt used an alias when recruiting her through an ad initially presented as modeling work under “Bubblegum Casting.” Victim 1 eventually participated after reassurances but found her video posted online months later despite her pleas for removal.
Sentences have already been handed down for some co-defendants: Garcia received a 20-year sentence; Gyi was sentenced to four years; Wolfe received a 14-year sentence; Moser awaits sentencing later this year. Pratt is scheduled for sentencing on September 8, 2025.
