For years, Michael Pratt operated in the shadows of the internet, profiting from coercion, deception, and exploitation under the guise of adult entertainment. On June 6, 2025, the founder of the now-infamous GirlsDoPorn website, once wanted on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list, finally pleaded guilty to federal sex trafficking charges—an admission that further pulled the mask off a business model built not on consent, but on control.
The story is more than a courtroom headline. It’s a stark reminder of how the porn industry can weaponize vulnerability, disguise abuse and trafficking, and sell it as fantasy.
A “Business” Built on Deceit and Abuse
From 2012 to 2019, Michael Pratt and his co-conspirators lured young women with promises of quick money, anonymity, and limited distribution. But what followed was a cycle of manipulation.
His first victim, 18 years old, responded to a modeling ad on Craigslist, then was coerced into participating in hours of shooting, promised the videos would never circulate outside of a private Australian audience. Nine months later, she found the video on GirlsDoPorn. She asked Pratt to take it down. He never responded.
Pratt deceived and trafficked hundreds of women just like this.
He and his team told the models videos would only be distributed overseas or to private collectors—not uploaded to a global audience including PornHub.
If a woman tried to stop filming, Michael Pratt or his team responded with threats—saying they would cancel flights home, take legal action, or release the footage online unless they finished the scene.
Although they were repeatedly promised the videos would not be shared, the content was blasted across the internet, often uploaded to major adult sites without the women’s consent. Victims found themselves doxxed, stalked, harassed, and even driven into hiding. The trauma wasn’t just online—it invaded their real lives, too.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of California, Pratt will face sentencing for two counts of sex trafficking: one for Sex Trafficking Conspiracy under Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1594, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine, and one for Sex Trafficking under Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1591, which includes a mandatory minimum of fifteen years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The other GirlsDoPorn perpetrators face the following:
DEFENDANTS – Case Number 19cr4488-JLS
Michael Pratt (Age 42) – To be sentenced September 8, 2025
Matthew Wolfe (Age 43) – Sentenced to 14 years on March 20, 2024
Ruben Andre Garcia (Age 36) – Sentenced to 20 years on June 4, 2021
Theodore Gyi (Age 47) – Sentenced to 4 years on November 9, 2022
Valorie Moser (Age 42) – To be sentenced on September 12, 2025
It’s not just GirlsDoPorn…
For the women who were exploited, the harm didn’t end with a guilty plea.
Many have shared how their lives were permanently altered by what happened. Some experienced severe anxiety and depression. Others became estranged from loved ones who saw the videos. Several survivors have said they still fear being recognized or targeted, even years later.
One woman told CBS News, “It doesn’t matter how much time passes. I still feel like people can see what happened to me.”
Another survivor said she couldn’t apply for jobs because the videos came up when potential employers Googled her name.
This isn’t just about embarrassment. It’s not about “regret” or “bad decisions.” These were cases of fraud, coercion, and emotional manipulation—hallmarks of sex trafficking under U.S. federal law.
Now it’s tempting to frame this case as an outlier—one bad actor in a sea of consensual performers. But stories like these reveal a darker undercurrent: the commodification of human bodies for clicks, profit, and pleasure, often at the expense of consent.
And the consequences aren’t limited to those on screen. Consumers are often unaware of the conditions under which content is produced. Without transparency or accountability, consumers may unknowingly support platforms that traffic in real harm.
FTND has long emphasized that porn isn’t just pixels—it represents real people. In the GirlsDoPorn case, those people were coerced, violated, and stripped of agency. And for years, viewers fueled that system with every click.
Pratt’s guilty plea is a significant legal milestone, but the case highlights deeper issues within the porn industry—where manipulation and exploitation are too often disguised as consent. It’s a reminder that behind many pornographic videos are real people whose exploitation was sold for profit.
Accountability Is Just the Beginning
Michael Pratt’s guilty plea is a small victory for survivors, but it’s only one chapter in a much larger fight. As long as demand exists, so will trafficking, abuse, and exploitation.
We must keep asking the difficult questions: Who benefits from the mainstream porn industry? Are viewers equipped to discern coercion from consent? And what kind of culture are we building when abuse is just a scroll away?
Here’s the fact: Sex trafficking can and does occur within pornography production.
Federal law defines sex trafficking as involving force, fraud, or coercion to cause someone to engage in commercial sex acts. Many people believe that if someone appears to “agree” on camera, the situation must be consensual.
But real consent is impossible when someone is lied to, misled, or threatened.
In the case of GirlsDoPorn, viewers had no way of knowing the women on camera were victims of trafficking. The videos looked like just another “amateur” upload. The reality was far more harmful.
And that’s the bigger issue: Most people watching pornography have no idea what’s happening behind the scenes.
Were the performers misled? Were they financially coerced? Were they underage, trafficked, or otherwise unable to give informed consent?
Often, there’s no way to know. And that’s what makes consumption risky—because clicking a video can unintentionally support exploitation.
GirlsDoPorn Case: Why This Matters Now More Than Ever
This case is a wake-up call for anyone who thinks exploitation in porn is rare or exaggerated.
It’s not. It’s real. And it’s happening on major platforms, behind popular search terms, and under labels like “real,” “first time,” and “amateur.”
This doesn’t mean every video online involves trafficking—but it does mean that we need to be asking more complex questions, demanding transparency, and educating ourselves on how exploitation operates in digital spaces.
When viewers normalize content without understanding the whole story, they unknowingly help fuel the demand for more of it.
Choose Awareness Over Apathy
The GirlsDoPorn case isn’t just about one man. It’s about the culture, systems, and normalization that made his crimes possible and profitable. But awareness is the first step toward change.
If you’re disturbed by what happened—and you should be—let that discomfort be a catalyst. Learn more about how the porn industry operates. Educate others—support survivors. And consider what kind of choices align with a world that values human dignity.
You don’t have to feel powerless. Change begins with awareness—and that starts with you.
Here’s how to take action:
- Get informed. Learn how sex trafficking shows up in the porn industry.
- Be critical. Don’t assume what you see online is always consensual.
- Share this story. Use your voice to raise awareness about exploitation.
- Support survivor-centered organizations. Help provide resources for those who’ve been impacted.
- Rethink your clicks. Choosing not to support platforms that profit from abuse makes a difference.
Because behind every screen, there’s a story.
Sources
Wéry, A., & Billieux, J. (2016). Online sexual activities: An exploratory study of problematic and non-problematic usage patterns in a sample of men. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 257-266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.046
British Board of Film Classification. (2020). Young people, pornography & age-verification. Retrieved from https://www.bbfc.co.uk/about-classification/research
U.S. Department of Justice. (2025, June 6). GirlsDoPorn Owner Michael Pratt Pleads Guilty To Sex Trafficking. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/girlsdoporn-owner-michael-pratt-pleads-guilty-sex-trafficking
CBS News. (2025, June 6). Michael Pratt, operator of porn website, pleads guilty to sex trafficking. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-pratt-porn-website-fbi-most-wanted-sex-trafficking/
Los Angeles Times. (2025, June 6). ‘GirlsDoPorn’ boss, once on FBI’s 10 Most Wanted, pleads guilty in sex trafficking case. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-06-06/girlsdoporn-boss-fbi-10-most-wanted-pleads-guilty-sex-trafficking