SAN DIEGO (AP) — An operator of a San Diego-based porn empire that coerced young women into filming adult videos has pleaded guilty in federal court to a single count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Tuesday that Matthew Isaac Wolfe, 40, admitted his role in the broad scheme that recruited numerous women under false pretenses to film videos for GirlsDoPorn.
Wolfe, 40, ran the day-to-day operations of GirlsDoPorn websites, managed finances, marketed the content and served as cameraman for about 100 videos, the newspaper said.
The conspiracy count to which Wolfe pleaded guilty involves 15 victims, all adults.
Three other co-defendants have pleaded guilty in the case, while GirlsDoPorn owner Michael James Pratt, 39, remains a fugitive.
Victims said they were plied with alcohol and marijuana before being rushed through signing a contract, which they were not allowed to read. 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.
The criminal indictments came in 2019, as the defendants were targeted in a civil lawsuit by 22 women who claimed they victimized as part of the conspiracy. The judge found in favor of the women and handed down a $12.7 million judgment against Pratt, Wolfe and adult performer Ruben Andre Garcia.
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, the Union-Tribune reported.
