CHRISTCHURCH, N.Z.—It seems almost ironic that Michael Pratt, the man mainly responsible for hoodwinking at least 22 young women into performing hardcore sex scenes for his company, GirlsDoPorn.com, should have been born in a place called "Christchurch"—but that city, as well as others in, according to the FBI, "New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Singapore, Japan, Chile, Croatia, and France," are where the agency is concentrating its search for the fugitive who fled the U.S. just as the civil trial against him and several associates was beginning last August in San Diego. The reward for information leading to Pratt's capture? $10,000.
But though that trial concluded on January 2, with San Diego County Superior Court Judge Kevin Enright issuing a $12.7 million verdict in favor of the 22 Jane Doe plaintiffs against Pratt, cameraman Matthew Wolfe, actor/director Reuben "Andre" Garcia and office assistant Valorie Moser, the aggrieved women have yet to see a dime of their recovery, with Pratt allegedly having moved all of GirlsDoPorn's and related companies' assets offshore in an attempt to thwart the verdict.
But that verdict cemented Pratt's status as a fugitive from law enforcement, and the FBI has been searching for him for more than a year, while Pratt's co-defendants have been cooling their heels in prison, awaiting their trial in federal court on sex trafficking and child pornography charges—reportedly, not all of the "women" GirlsDoPorn shot were over 18—charges that Pratt himself will face when apprehended. Early on, law enforcement narrowed Pratt's likely location to his native New Zealand, where he reportedly stayed at his parents' home for a while but left, they told plaintiffs' attorney Ed Chapin, for parts unknown.
"I’m in the civil aspect of the claim and we are concentrating our efforts on post-judgment; in other words, post-award activities that we have to undertake in order to perfect our rights,” Chapin told the website RNZ.co.nz.
As those who've followed the case will recall, Pratt and his associates recruited young women from online sources such as Craigslist and offered then varying amounts of money—most often $5,000 each—to perform one hardcore scene with Garcia, which the company promised would never be seen in the U.S. but would only appear on DVDs sold abroad. However, not only were most of the women stiffed for most of the promised payment, but their scenes appeared on GirlsDoPorn and other websites (including Pornhub) where several of the women's relatives and friends saw them, much to the women's chagrin.
According to a bulletin released by the FBI, Pratt is wanted on "Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion; Production of Child Pornography; Sex Trafficking of a Minor and by Force, Fraud and Coercion; Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion; Criminal Forfeiture."
The FBI "Wanted" poster, which was released this week, describes Pratt's offenses as follows:
"From approximately 2012 to October 2019, in the Southern District of California and elsewhere, Michael James Pratt and others allegedly participated in a conspiracy to recruit young adult and minor women to engage in commercial sex acts by force, fraud and coercion. Pratt and a co-conspirator owned and operated a pornography production company and online pornography websites, 'GirlsDoPorn' and 'GirlsDoToys.' Pratt and his co-conspirators allegedly recruited young women from around the United States by posting advertisements for clothed modeling jobs on the Internet. Pratt and his co-conspirators advised the women responding to the ads that the jobs were in fact for pornographic videos and that they would be paid between $3,000 to $5,000 U.S. dollars for a one-day video shoot. To persuade the women to participate, Pratt and his co-conspirators allegedly convinced the women they would remain anonymous, that their videos would be provided to private collectors on DVD, and would not be posted on the Internet. Pratt allegedly paid other young women working at his direction to act as references or provide false assurances to the women that, if they filmed a video, the video would not be posted online. Some women were not permitted to leave the shooting locations until the videos were made and others were allegedly forced to perform certain sex acts they had declined to do. Allegedly, some of the women were sexually assaulted. Pratt's pornography websites generated more than $17 million U.S. dollars in revenue. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Pratt in the United States District Court, Southern District of California, on November 6, 2019."
Those with information concerning Pratt's whereabouts were advised to "contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate."
