Who is Michael James Pratt, porn site founder arrested in Spain on sex trafficking charges?

The FBI announced on Friday that 40-year-old Michael James Pratt, who was on their Top Ten Most Wanted list, was arrested in Spain. He was charged with sex trafficking in the US in 2019, but had fled the country then.

The FBI said on their Twitter handle regarding Pratt’s arrest: “Spanish authorities have captured #FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Michael James Pratt in Madrid, Spain. Pratt has been a fugitive since 2019 and was wanted for sex trafficking and the production of child pornography”

Who is Michael James Pratt?

Michael James Pratt is the founder of a San Diego, California-based pornographic website called GirlsDoPorn. The New Zealand native will be held in the custody of Spanish authorities before being extradited to the United States.

Pratt ran his empire from 2012 to 2019, and has been accused of coercing young adults and even minors to “engage in commercial sex acts by force, fraud and coercion”.

Also Read| Joe Biden slammed as National Guard delays last paycheck to troops before Christmas

In 2019, he and others were charged in San Diego with sex crimes after being targeted in a civil lawsuit by 22 women who claimed they were victimized by fraud and breach of contract.

The women said they were plied with alcohol and marijuana before being rushed through signing a contract, which they were not allowed to read. Some said they were sexually assaulted and held in hotel rooms unwillingly until adult filming had ended.

A judge found in favor of the women and handed down a $12.7 million judgment against Pratt, Matthew Isaac Wolfe and adult producer and performer Ruben Andre Garcia.

Also Read| Duke Energy’s rolling power outages cause 530,000 blackouts in North Carolina, attracting backlash

Wolfe, who handled day-to-day operations, finances, marketing and filming for the website, pleaded guilty this year to a single federal count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. He awaits sentencing.