The founder of the Californian porn empire that forced young women to make adult videos, Michael James Pratt, was named one of the ten most wanted criminals in the United States and was arrested on December 21 in Madrid, three years after he went into hiding, according to AP NEWS.

Pratt, a native of New Zealand, will be held in Spanish custody pending extradition to San Diego to face charges of sex and child trafficking, child pornography and conspiracy to launder money..

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Pratt, 40, founded the now defunct GirlsDoPorn site in San Diego. In 2019, he and others were charged with sexual offenses in San Diego after a civil lawsuit was filed against him by 22 women alleging they were victims of fraud and breach of contract..

The women said they were drugged with alcohol and marijuana and then rushed to sign a contract that they weren't allowed to read.. Some of them said they were sexually assaulted and forcibly kept in hotel rooms until the end of adult filming..

The judge ruled in favor of the women and awarded 12.7 million. USD Pratt, Matthew Isaac Wolfe and adult film producer and performer Ruben Andre Garcia.

Wolf, who handled day-to-day operations, finance, marketing and filming for the site, pleaded guilty this year to one federal count of conspiracy to commit the sex trade.. He's awaiting sentencing.

The other accomplices also pleaded guilty.. Garcia was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while cameraman Theodore Jiy received a four-year sentence..

Recall that in 2020, producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of raping four more women, one of whom was 17 years old.. For previous cases of rape, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison. In addition to detention, Weinstein must pay $44 million in civil claims.