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A former Christchurch man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking while working in the United States on a porn website.
Matthew Wolfe, 40, appeared in the San Diego court last week.
According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, he filmed over 100 porn videos, many with victims who were told the content would never appear online.
Wolfe admitted to his role in the 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 a cameraman for about 100 videos.
The conspiracy count to which Wolfe pleaded guilty, relates to 15 victims, all adults.
Matthew Wolfe, 40, appeared in the San Diego court last week.
Three other co-defendants have already pleaded guilty in the case, while the remaining defendant, GirlsDoPorn owner Michael James Pratt, who’s also originally from Christchurch, remains a fugitive.
Photo: FBI
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that 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 victimised by the conspiracy.
The judge in that case ultimately found in favour of the women and handed down a $12.7 million judgment against Pratt, Wolfe, and adult performer Ruben Andre Garcia.
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. Still, Wolfe and others continued to assure recruits that their videos, and identifies, would remain secret.
Victims said they were plied with alcohol and marijuana before being rushed through signing a contract, which they were not allowed to read or obtain copies of. Some said they were sexually assaulted and held in the hotel rooms unwillingly until filming had ended. Wolfe admitted in the plea agreement that some of the women were threatened if they asked to stop.
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.
Pratt went missing during the civil trial and is believed to have fled the country.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information that leads to his arrest. The FBI said Pratt has ties to multiple countries — including New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Singapore, Japan, Chile, Croatia and France — and “has the financial means to be anywhere around the world.”
