The leader of an illegal sex trafficking operation based in San Diego must pay almost 76 million dollars in restitution to more than 100 victims, according to Court House News.
Michael Pratt headed the GirlsDoPorn sex trafficking ring that exploited hundreds of young women by luring them to San Diego for modeling positions, then coerced them into producing pornography that spread widely across the internet despite explicit promises it would not be. Pratt, who owned GirlsDoPorn.com, operated the website from 2007 through 2019.
He received a 27-year prison sentence last September.
The restitution, ordered by US District Judge Janis Sammartino on Thursday, requires Pratt to pay $75,568,283.47 to his victims following his conviction for conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
Approximately $17 million of the restitution will go to victims on a pro rata basis, with each recipient receiving compensation proportional to their losses. The remaining $58,645,485.47 will be distributed to 106 victims.
“Today’s $76 million restitution order is a powerful acknowledgment of the lifelong harm inflicted on these women,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California stated to Courthouse News. “While no amount of money would fully remedy what they endured, this order holds Pratt financially accountable for some part of the harm that he caused these victims.”
Average restitution amounts for each listed victim reached $553,000, with the smallest payment totaling only $440 and the largest approaching $7 million.
Sammartino, a George W. Bush appointee, also ruled that Pratt no longer possesses rights to use the likeness of any models filmed in Pratt’s GirlsDoPorn or GirlsDoToys operations, referred to as GDP and GDT.
“All purported model releases and other agreements between GDP and/or GDT and its models purporting to give GDP and/or GDT the right to use, publish, or otherwise exploit its models’ images, likenesses, or videos are void and unenforceable,” she wrote.
The restitution will also include payments from Pratt’s co-conspirators, which comprise Matthew Wolfe, a videographer, Theodore Gyi, also a videographer, Andre Garcia, an actor, and Valerie Moser, who served as bookkeeper. All received separate sentences.
Douglas Wiederhold, another actor, recently received prison time for his participation in the sex trafficking ring through a separate case.
Pratt and his co-conspirators utilized internet advertising to promote a modeling opportunity in San Diego to hundreds of young college aged women. They employed these advertisements to coerce women into filming pornography.
Pratt and his employees told the women the videos would not become public and would only serve a private collector in Australia. However, the videos spread widely across well known pornography websites globally.
Some victims who provided victim impact statements at recent sentencing hearings stated they have experienced continuous harassment and doxxing since the videos, some of which remain available, were published.
Pratt, a New Zealand native, initially faced sex trafficking charges in 2019 and fled from the United States. Authorities eventually arrested him in Spain in 2022 and extradited him back to America in 2024.
This case demonstrates that justice, though delayed, can still arrive for victims of exploitation regardless of how perpetrators attempt to evade accountability through international flight. America must continue prioritizing the prosecution of human trafficking operations while ensuring victims receive both legal vindication and meaningful compensation for harms they suffered through criminal exploitation schemes.
