PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: Michael James Pratt, the founder of the defunct porn website GirlsDoPorn, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking after years on the run.

👥 Who’s Involved: Pratt, his co-conspirators, and hundreds of women, many of them teenagers.

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📍 Where & When: Operating out of San Diego from 2012 to 2019; Pratt fled in 2019, was arrested in Spain in 2022, and was extradited to the U.S. in 2024.

💬 Key Quote: “Pratt made ‘millions of dollars’ off the adult content,” according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

⚠️ Impact: Pratt faces life in prison; his co-conspirators have also received significant sentences.

IN FULL:

Michael James Pratt, the founder of the now-defunct GirlsDoPorn website, has pleaded guilty to sex trafficking charges in San Diego, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed. Pratt, 42, admitted to orchestrating a scheme that lured hundreds of women, many of them teenagers, into performing in pornographic videos under false pretenses.

Pratt and his associates operated the scheme from 2012 to 2019, targeting young women through deceptive advertisements for modeling opportunities. Victims were reportedly promised that the videos would remain private and inaccessible in the United States. However, according to prosecutors, the content was uploaded online, garnering millions of views and generating over $17 million in revenue for Pratt.

In 2019, Pratt fled the United States and evaded law enforcement for over three years before being apprehended in Spain in December 2022. He was extradited to the U.S. in March 2024.

Court documents reveal that Pratt and his team employed coercive tactics to force the women to participate. Victims who expressed a desire to withdraw were allegedly threatened with lawsuits, canceled travel arrangements, or the public release of their videos.

One victim, an 18-year-old, responded to a Craigslist ad for “Bubblegum Casting” and was assured that her video would only be shared with private clients in Australia. Despite these assurances, the video was posted online nine months later, and her pleas for its removal were ignored.

Pratt’s co-conspirators have also faced justice. Co-founder Matthew Isaac Wolfe was sentenced to 14 years in prison earlier this year, while Ruben Andre Garcia, a male performer in the videos, received a 20-year sentence in 2021. Cameraman Theodore Gyi was sentenced to four years in 2022, and office manager Valorie Moser awaits sentencing later in 2025.

Pratt is scheduled for sentencing on September 8, 2025, and faces the possibility of life imprisonment for his role in the trafficking operation.

The case comes as other major pornography sites have also faced accusations of sex trafficking and worse. Pornhub, one of the largest porn websites online, has been accused of profiting from sex trafficking. The site’s parent group, Aylo Holdings S.A.R.L., has admitted to receiving payments from criminal actors who coerced women into sex acts and posted the videos without their permission.