A former Christchurch man who founded a multimillion dollar porn empire has pleaded guilty to federal sex trafficking charges in California.
Michael James Pratt, 42, entered his plea on Thursday in San Diego.
Originally from Christchurch, he moved to the United States in 2007 and began producing amateur porn videos shortly after leaving school.
This image made available by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation shows three photos of Michael James Pratt, the founder of a California-based porn empire that coerced young women into filming adult videos. (FBI via AP, File)
Working with childhood friend Matthew Isaac Wolfe, Pratt launched early websites such as Wicked Movies, TeenieFlixxx and Kute Kittens, which helped funnel traffic into paid subscription platforms.
By 2009, he had created GirlsDoPorn and a related site called GirlsDoToys, operating from San Diego.
Prosecutors said Pratt and his associates recruited hundreds of young women, many in their late teens, by advertising fake modelling jobs.
The women were told their videos would be sold privately overseas and never appear online. Instead, the content was uploaded publicly and distributed worldwide without their consent.
In 2019, 22 women filed a civil lawsuit accusing Pratt and others of fraud, breach of contract and emotional abuse.
The women said they were manipulated into signing contracts they were not allowed to read, given alcohol and marijuana, and in some cases sexually assaulted or held in hotel rooms until filming ended. A court awarded the women more than 12 million US dollars.
As criminal charges mounted, Pratt fled the country in 2019 and remained a fugitive for three years. He was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list and was eventually arrested in Madrid in December 2022. He was extradited to the United States in early 2024.
Pratt admitted to using deception, coercion and threats to control his victims between 2012 and 2019. His websites generated more than 17 million US dollars in revenue. He faces a possible life sentence when he is sentenced on 25 September.
Several of his co-defendants have already been sentenced. Matthew Wolfe received 14 years in prison. Ruben Andre Garcia was sentenced to 20 years. Theodore Gyi received four years. Former bookkeeper Valorie Moser has also pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.
