Porn website operator pleads guilty in scheme

The operator of the GirlsDoPorn empire, which coerced young women into filming adult videos that were widely released online, pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court Tuesday to a single count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.

Matthew Isaac Wolfe, 40, admitted to his role in the broad scheme that recruited numerous women under false pretenses for pornography. His responsibilities included running the day-to-day operations of the websites, managing the finances, marketing the content and serving as cameraman for about 100 videos.

The conspiracy count to which Wolfe pleaded guilty pertains to 15 victims, all adults.

Three other co-defendants have already pleaded guilty in the case, while the remaining defendant, GirlsDoPorn owner Michael James Pratt, 39, remains a fugitive.

A federal grand jury indicted Wolfe and other key participants in 2019. At the time, the defendants were embroiled in a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court filed by 22 women who were victimized by the conspiracy. The judge in that case ultimately found in favor of the women and handed down a $12.7 million judgment against Pratt, Wolfe and adult performer Ruben Andre Garcia.

Beginning in 2012, the women and at least one minor were recruited first as models to come to San Diego, then pressured to have sex on camera with a porn actor in posh hotel rooms and short-term rentals around the county, according to federal prosecutors and evidence presented in the civil case.

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 widely disseminated on the GirlsDoPorn network of sites and beyond.

Wolfe admitted he was aware that the names and social media accounts for some women were posted on another website controlled by Pratt, resulting in severe harassment of the women by Internet trolls.

Wolfe faces a sentence of up to life in prison. However, as part of the plea agreement, prosecutors said they would recommend a term in the mid-range of the sentencing guidelines, not above 12 years and six months.