A Christchurch man who helped trick women into filming pornographic videos has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in the US.
Warning: This story discusses sexual abuse
Matthew Isaac Wolfe was sentenced at the United States District Court in San Diego after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.
It relates to 15 victims, all adults.
He moved to the US in 2011 following the Christchurch earthquakes, where he worked for Michael James Pratt, who owned the now-defunct GirlsDoPorn website. The two had been friends when they attended Christchurch Boys' High School.
Wolfe and Pratt allegedly used internet ads, fake websites, and email addresses to trick young women into thinking they were attending a modelling job.
Pratt and his associates would then fly the women to California where they allegedly revealed the promise of a modelling job was a façade.
When the women tried to escape, they would allegedly threaten them with lawsuits, cancel flights home and physically block the door.
GirlsDoPorn would tell the women the videos were for private clients overseas and that they would not be shared publicly. Pratt and his partners allegedly hired other women to reassure the victims the videos would not be posted online.
Michael James Pratt, who was raised in Christchurch, is charged with sex trafficking and the production of child sexual abuse material. (Source: 1News)
The videos were uploaded to the GirlsDoPorn page on Pornhub, the world's largest pornography website, where they would be exposed to the page's 780,000 subscribers, gaining billions of views (not accounting for downloads).
In December 2022, Pratt was arrested in Spain after being on the run for nearly three years after being added to the FBI's most wanted list. He has since been extradited to the US and appeared in court on the same day as Wolfe's sentencing.
"It was like Christmas. I jumped out of my seat," said one victim who had been in court for Wolfe's sentencing and hadn't expected Pratt to appear, told the San Diego Tribune.
Pratt has pleaded not guilty to 19 charges, including sex trafficking, production of child pornography, sex trafficking of a minor, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
Wolfe had already pleaded guilty by the time of Pratt's arrest.
In his plea, the man said his responsibilities at GirlsDoPorn were running the day-to-day operations of the GirlsDoPorn.com website, managing the finances, marketing the content, and serving as cameraman for about 100 videos.
"It's my view that you played an essential role," the judge told him as he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
However, Wolfe claims he was forced to work for Pratt because the earthquake had destroyed his job prospects and that he was secondary to Pratt.
According to sentencing documents seen by the San Diego Tribune, Wolfe's lawyer said: "Pratt called all the shots... it was entirely his show, with everyone else in a supporting role."
A victim said: "Wolfe is just as guilty as Pratt."
"You have been a coward long enough. Could you look at me?" one victim told Wolfe. "I hope you get exactly what you deserve."
Another said he "seemed harmless but wrecked my entire life".
Several other people have been sentenced to lengthy prison sentences for their involvement.
SHARE ME