Porn kingpin Matthew Isaac Wolfe, who was business partners with GirlsDoPorn site owner, was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in prison, according to officials.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California released a press statement identifying Wolfe, 37, as an accomplice with GirlsDoPorn website owner, Michael Pratt, in deceiving and coercing “young women” to appear in pornographic videos. Authorities stated that the men would allegedly lure girls throughout the United States and Canada by “using internet advertisements for clothed modeling jobs.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: ‘Lost’ And ‘Unmoored’: How Porn Is Fueling The ‘Boy Crisis’ In America)
“We applaud all survivors who courageously speak out in pursuit of justice,” U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath stated. “Their voices rang out in the courtroom today, and we stand beside them in holding Mr. Wolfe accountable for the incredible pain and suffering he caused.”
Friend and Business Partner of GirlsDoPorn Owner Michael Pratt Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison https://t.co/FlOvqCbgTt pic.twitter.com/zOigc5g5PH
— US Attorney CAS (@SDCAnews) March 20, 2024
After Wolfe would lure victims in, authorities stated that he would lie to persuade the women to appear in the video by telling them that the videos would never be published, or released in the United States, and no one would be able to know it was them. After shooting at local hotels and short-term rental units in San Diego, California for hours, Wolfe would then post the videos to “heavily trafficked adult film sites, like Pornhub, meant to funnel viewers to the full-length versions of the videos on Pratt’s website, GirlsDoPorn.”
Authorities stated that with Wolfe’s help, “Pratt charged visitors to GirlsDoPorn a subscription fee and generated more than $17 million in revenue.”
Wolfe ended up pleading guilty to the acts on July 26, 2022, admitting he moved from New Zealand to the United States to work for Pratt in 2011. During his time working with Pratt, authorities stated that Wolfe had filmed approximately 100 videos, uploaded completed videos online, “oversaw the company’s financial books, and operated various business entities that were used to promote the business.”
During Wolfe’s hearings on Tuesday and Jan. 22, roughly 30 survivors spoke about their experiences with Wolfe and asked the federal judge to “impose a significant sentence.” Authorities stated that after Wolfe would trick the girls into coming out to San Diego and convince them into the videos, he would instruct others working with the girls to lie about where the videos would end up.
On multiple occasions, Wolfe had told co-defendant and cameraman Theodore Gyi that if the women asked him, he should lie and “tell them the videos would not be posted on the internet.”
Some of the women described to officials their struggles with substance and alcohol abuse, “anxiety and depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and post-traumatic stress syndrome,” following the release of their videos online. While the reactions to some of the videos going viral online varied, many stated that they lost relationships with family members or friends and some even went into hiding.
“I was robbed of my privacy, my dignity, and my peace of mind… But worst of all, I was robbed of my identity. I was once viewed as a beautiful, fun-loving and strong woman who was known for her athleticism and ability to make just about anyone laugh. I was a caring friend and a daughter my parents were proud of. Mr. Wolfe shattered who I was…Today I’m taking my identity back. I am not a victim. I’m a survivor,” one of the women stated.
Authorities noted that Wolfe had also been aware that some of the girls’ “personal identifying information and social media accounts” were posted on pornwikileaks.com, a site controlled by Pratt to expose the “true identities of individuals appearing in pornographic videos,” but continued to pressure women into partaking in the videos.
“That ad seemed harmless, but it wrecked my entire life. In an instant, the life I had was gone: My hopes gone, my relationships gone, everything was gone…The fall-out from the videos spread to every part of my life like cancer, and that cancer remains to this day, making it virtually impossible for me to start a new life,” another woman stated. “I lost my modeling career, my college years, my whole twenties, my name, my career path, my friends, and my family. Everything I had built was gone, and so too was my future.”
In addition to Wolfe, Gyi was sentenced to four years in prison on Nov. 9, 2022, recruiter and male model Ruben Andre Garcia was sentenced to 20 years on June 14, 2021, and office manager Valorie Moser is set for her sentencing on August 9.
Wolfe’s restitution hearing is scheduled for May 7.