A man who federal officials say coerced young women and at least one minor into performing in pornographic videos that were posted online — after promising the victims they would not go on the internet — has been added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. There is a $100,000 reward for information that leads directly to his arrest.
The FBI says Michael James Pratt, 39, and his co-conspirators used online ads, fake websites and email addresses to recruit the young women for modeling jobs. But they would learn after that the recruitment was for pornographic videos.
The women were allegedly told the videos would be for a private collector overseas and that the women would remain anonymous. To help sell this story, the FBI said Pratt and his colleagues would hire other women to repeat the false claim to the victims.
But the videos did end up online, the FBI said, on two different websites including “GirlsDoPorn.” The videos netted millions of dollars.
The FBI said hundreds of women were victimized, including one who was under the age of 18.
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“Some women were allegedly not permitted to leave the shooting locations until the videos were completed, others were allegedly forced to perform sex acts they had declined to perform, and some women were allegedly sexually assaulted,” the FBI said on its 10 Most Wanted listing.
The FBI said Pratt remains the only major player in this scheme that has not been brought to justice.
Ruben Garcia of San Diego, a producer and recruiter, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Matthew Isaac Wolfe, the alleged co-owner, will be sentenced in October after pleading guilty to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.
Pratt is 6 feet tall and weighs about 200 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes. He is a native of New Zealand and still has his accent.
The FBI said Pratt has the financial means to travel the world and has probably offered people money to provide him a safe place to hide.
Tips about Pratt’s whereabouts can be provided to your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.
