Porn site owners charged with 'conspiracy to commit sex trafficking'

Matthew Isaac Wolfe pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court Tuesday to a single count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Wolfe, 40, the operator of the GirlsDoPorn website, admitted to his role in a scheme that recruited numerous women under false pretenses for pornography.

According to the Justice Department, Wolfe and his team filmed explicit content of about a hundred young women and shared the pornographic videos on United States websites after promising the women they would only appear on websites outside of the country.

The women were told the videos wouldn’t be made public but would go to private DVD collections overseas, they testified. Instead, the videos were uploaded on the GirlsDoPorn website, owned by the defendants.

Wolfe’s co-conspirator, Michael James Pratt, did not appear for his civil trial and is wanted by the FBI. While the three other co-defendants have already pleaded guilty in the case, Pratt, 39, remains a fugitive.

One of the models recruited by Pratt is a minor. Pratt is charged with not only sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion but the production of child pornography and sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud, and coercion, according to the DOJ.

Pratt, facing more serious charges, is believed to have fled the country. The FBI said Pratt has ties to multiple countries including New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Singapore, Japan, Chile, Croatia and France.

Because of his $17 million fortune garnered in his sex-trafficking schemes, the FBI has said Pratt,  "has the financial means to be anywhere around the world."

"We know there are people that are helping Pratt," said San Diego FBI spokesperson Special Agent William McNamara. The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest.

"Wolfe lied to and preyed on vulnerable young women, subjecting them to years of relentless harassment, fear and mental anguish," said Stacey Moy, special agent in charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. "Identifying, investigating, and apprehending sex trafficking offenders is a critical part of our mission. We will continue to work with our partners every day to hold these perpetrators accountable for their crimes."

Wolfe is scheduled to be sentenced by US District Judge Janis L. Sammartino on October 10, 2022, at 9 a.m.

Any additional victims of the alleged crime are encouraged to call the San Diego FBI at 858-320-1800.