Warning: Distressing content
A Christchurch man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison in the United States after he helped his childhood friend trick scores of women into becoming porn stars.
Matthew Isaac Wolfe was sentenced today in the United States District Court in San Diego – where he claimed he was effectively forced to go and work for his mate after the deadly 2011 earthquake in Christchurch destroyed job prospects for young people.
He also claimed his role in the offending was secondary to that of his friend and boss Michael Pratt.
In July 2022, Wolfe pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.
He admitted he moved to the US in 2011 to work for Pratt, who owned the now-defunct GirlsDoPorn website.
ratt and Wolfe met at primary school in Christchurch and while they attended different secondary schools – Christchurch Boys’ High School and Burnside High respectively – they remained friends.
Straight out of school, Pratt and Wolfe entered the porn industry, launching the websites Wicked Movies, TeenieFlixxx and Kute Kitten in 2000.
In the US, Wolfe persuaded women aged between 18 and 23 to appear in adult videos – telling them the videos would never be posted online or released in the US.
Further, he promised that no one who knew the women would ever find out about their production.
Despite his promises, Wolfe was well aware that personal identifying information and social media accounts for some women were being posted on pornwikileaks.com – a site controlled by Pratt and dedicated to “exposing” the true identities of individuals appearing in sex videos.
Many of those duped into filming were struggling financially and were offered between $US3000 and $US5000 ($NZ5000 to $NZ8000) as payment, as well as an “all expenses” trip to San Diego.
They were taken to motel rooms where the footage was filmed.
The videos were then posted to the company’s subscription-based website, while shorter versions were posted to some of the world’s largest pornography sites.
The videos were viewed more than a billion times – a conservative figure that doesn’t take into account pirated copies of the files.
Wolfe admitted to filming about 100 videos and faced a maximum of life in prison for his offending.
Pratt went on the run in 2019 and was on the FBI’s list of 10 Most Wanted Fugitives before his arrest in Spain in December 2022.
He has recently been extradited to the US and is expected to make his initial appearance in a San Diego federal courtroom later today.
US District Judge Janis Sammartino handed Wolfe a 14-year prison term at his sentencing, which started at 6am New Zealand time.
“It’s my view that you played an essential role,” Sammartino said.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Wolfe’s lawyers filed documents to the court claiming he and Pratt were “not particularly close friends”.
Further, the lawyers claimed Pratt offered him a job only after the 2011 quake where New Zealand’s “economy ground to a halt, leaving young people like Wolfe with few job prospects”.
Wolfe claimed Pratt said he needed “technical help to run his business” and the job offer included a flight to the US, an apartment and pay of $500 a week.
While he stated “in the office maintaining the computer servers, handling payroll and taking care of other routine office tasks” he “eventually began filming videos and taking a more hands-on role within the company”, the Union-Tribune reported.
While Wolfe’s team told the court Pratt was the “undisputed leader” and “called all the shots”, the judge did not agree.
Earlier this month the Herald reported exclusive details of the first half of Wolfe’s sentencing.
It had been split across two dates to allow all of the women Wolfe victimised to read impact statements, giving powerful insights into the damage – and almost deaths – he caused.
“A decade ago, Wolfe sentenced me to a lifetime of fear, anxiety, and loneliness,” one woman said.
“I have lived with the shame, the fear, the blame, and the consequences long enough and so have the other survivors.
“It is now Mr Wolfe’s turn to carry that burden.”
Wolfe’s actions drove some of the women to attempt suicide – and many of them to seriously consider it.
“Every day since meeting Mr Wolfe, I have had to make a very conscious decision just to stay alive. Living is a daily debate with myself, not a certainty,” said one woman.
“There are days I wish I had died … because dying would have been less painful.
“All I want to do is hide … I dream of fading into oblivion.”
Two of Wolfe’s co-offenders were sentenced last year – recruiter, actor and producer Ruben Garcia to 20 years in prison and cameraman Theodore Gyi to four years.
“Wolfe lied to and preyed on vulnerable young women, subjecting them to years of relentless harassment, fear and mental anguish,” said Stacey Moy, special agent in charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office.
By Anna Leask
