A New Zealand man on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives list who ran the San Diego-based pornography website GirlsDoPorn.com was arrested in Spain this week after evading sex trafficking charges, including coercing women to have sex on camera.
Michael James Pratt was detained by Spanish authorities on Friday in Madrid. He had checked into a hotel in the city center on Wednesday using one of his many false identities, El Español reported.
The Spanish National Police Corps posted a video of Pratt’s arrest on social media. A tweet from the video did not name him, but described the suspect as a New Zealand citizen wanted by the FBI.
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Michael James Pratt is charged with forcible sex trafficking, fraud and coercion, as well as production of child pornography and forcible sex trafficking of a minor.
(FBI)
Prat was added to the FBI’s Top 10 list earlier this year and a $100,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest.
“The capture of Michael Pratt is an example of how the FBI will seek justice beyond America’s borders: you can run but you can’t hide,” Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI Field Office said in a statement. in San Diego.
Pratt was charged with forcible sex trafficking, fraud and coercion, as well as production of child pornography and forcible sex trafficking of a minor, fraud and coercion, the Justice Department said.
GirlsDoPorn co-owner Matthew Isaac Wolfe, 40, also of New Zealand, pleaded guilty in July to forcible sex trafficking, fraud and coercion, as well as conspiracy to commit forcible sex trafficking, fraud and coercion, which can result in a life. sentence.
US authorities allege the couple filmed young women from the US and Canada committing sexual acts between 2012 and 2019. They lured them into the photo shoots under the guise of posing for clothed model concerts.
The victims later discovered that the works were pornographic videos. They were falsely promised the videos would not be posted online and some were held against their will until the videos were completed, authorities said.
The Spanish National Police Corps released a video of the arrest of Michael James Pratt in Madrid. He is accused of forcible sex trafficking, fraud and coercion, as well as production of child pornography and forcible sex trafficking of a minor.
(National Police Corps of Spain)
They were also forced to commit sexual acts that they initially refused to do, the FBI said. Pratt allegedly made $17 million from the sex trafficking scheme.
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Wolfe admitted at the time that Pratt also operated a website called pornwikileaks.com with identifying information and social media accounts for some women who were being filmed. The website dedicated itself to “exposing” the true identities of the women featured in those sex videos, “causing the victims to be subjected to severe harassment,” the Justice Department said in a September press release.
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
