‘You are evil.’ GirlsDoPorn owner sex trafficked hundreds of women, feds say
Forty women out of hundreds federal prosecutors said were sex trafficked by GirlsDoPorn owner Michael Pratt spoke at his sentencing, detailing exploitation they endured and harm that followed before a judge handed him a 27-year prison sentence.
Pratt, 42, was sentenced Sept. 8 on charges of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion; and committing sex trafficking by force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California said in a Sept. 8 news release.
Described as “the mastermind of the sprawling GirlsDoPorn sex trafficking empire,” Pratt made millions of dollars owning and operating the site and a second related website, according to prosecutors.
His business was based on “luring young women into pornography through lies, coercion, and manipulation, and then broadcasting their abuse to millions online,” prosecutors said.
Pratt was represented by attorney Brian White, who told McClatchy News via email Sept. 9 that “Mr. Pratt is deeply remorseful for the pain and suffering he caused to the women involved with his GDP website. “
The GirlsDoPorn scheme involved young women, largely between the ages of 18 through 21, who were recruited from across the U.S. and Canada and flown to San Diego to film pornography in hotel rooms, according to prosecutors.
They were misled into filming sex acts on video by advertisements for modeling gigs Pratt and others working with him posted online, prosecutors said.
The women were promised their footage “would never be posted on-line, that they would never be released in the United States, and that no one who knew the women would ever find out about the videos,” reads a sentencing memo filed by the government.
But the videos were posted on Pratt’s websites by his employees, according to prosecutors, who said clips were also shared to free porn sites to increase traffic to Pratt’s platforms.
Several women who spoke at Pratt’s sentencing shared how they were “exploited, coerced, raped, abused and trapped” in San Diego hotel rooms, where sex videos were filmed, prosecutors said.
When women begged Pratt or his employees to remove the content, they were ignored and many were blocked, according to the sentencing memo.
Women were later doxxed online, harassed, stalked and endured threats as well as suicide attempts, prosecutors said.
White said on behalf of Pratt that “the consequences were unintended and resulted from the activities of internet porn trolls.”
“Mr. Pratt undertook efforts to stop the doxing of the models, including purchasing the main doxing site, Porn Wikileaks, to shut it down, but his efforts were unable to eradicate the doxing,” White added.
‘You are a predator’
One of the women, who was 19 when she was recruited in the scheme and later was fired from her job as a children’s dance instructor, addressed Pratt in the courtroom, according to prosecutors, saying:
“You are evil. You are a predator. You are a rapist. This is who you are.”
“Your ego was too big to believe you’d ever get caught but karma comes around. It is your turn now to suffer,” the woman added, prosecutors said.
She was one of several women who said they have lost jobs and relationships because of the accused exploitation.
Other women who testified said they have surgically altered their appearances while others have changed their legal names, according to prosecutors.
“Others spoke of substance abuse and alcoholism; one said she had a glass of wine for breakfast just to make it to court today,” prosecutors said.
After Pratt was charged with sex trafficking offenses in 2019, prosecutors said he fled the U.S., “liquidated his assets” and landed on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted List.
Twenty-two women who sued Pratt and others linked to GirlsDoPorn were awarded nearly $13 million, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
He was a fugitive until he was arrested in Spain in December 2022, according to prosecutors. He was extradited to San Diego in March 2024.
In the sentencing memo, prosecutors asked the court for a sentence of 21 years and eight months in prison.
At the hearing, U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino explained she issued Pratt a higher sentence of 27 years because of his role in the case.
“I’ve been doing this a very long time and I’ve never had a case like this before, of this magnitude,” Sammartino said, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The sheer scope and magnitude of this offense causes this court to vary upward.”
Sammartino handed Pratt the lengthiest sentence of his coconspirators, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Three others, including Matthew Wolfe, Ruben Andre Garcia and Theodore Gyi, have previously been sentenced. A fourth defendant, Valerie Moser, is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12.
Pratt pleaded guilty to the sex trafficking charges on June 5, prosecutors said.
White told McClatchy News that Pratt “hopes that his sentencing will allow the women to find closure, healing, and the ability to move forward with their lives.”
At his sentencing, one of the women spoke of feeling empowered after years of trauma, according to prosecutors, saying:
“For years I carried shame that never belonged to me....Today I will walk out of this courtroom an empowered woman. You will walk out in shackles.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 11:36 AM with the headline "‘You are evil.’ GirlsDoPorn owner sex trafficked hundreds of women, feds say."
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