40 GirlsDoPorn victims sue Pornhub for hosting sex trafficking videos

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From approximately 2013 to 2017, Garcia worked as a recruiter, producer, and actor for the GDP and GDT websites, which grossed millions of dollars during this time. Garcia knew the videos were being posted on the fee-based websites, GDP and GDT, and excerpts were posted on free pornographic sites such as Pornhub.com, one of the most frequently viewed websites in the world receiving millions of views, to drive paying viewers to GDP and GDT. The lawsuit that was brought forward by the 22 women in 2017 included similar harrowing stories, such as being “assaulted”. This previous lawsuit resulted in Girls Do Porn being ordered to pay $12.8m in damages as well as ownership rights to the videos they featured in. Between October and November 2019, six people were charged on counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, with a further two people charged in December with obstruction of sex trafficking enforcement. The amended complaint brings the total number of plaintiffs up to 50, all filing anonymously  as Jane Does.

A judge recently ordered the site’s owners to pay $13 million to 22 women.

Other co-defendants have struck plea deals, but Pratt — who faces decades in federal prison if convicted — could choose to take the case to trial after pleading not guilty. Pratt was on the lam for three years and had been listed among the FBI’s most-wanted fugitives by the time he was arrested in Spain in December 2022. Five of those indicted alongside him have pleaded guilty to their crimes, each fingering Pratt as the ringleader. The majority of his co-conspirators have started their sentences in prison.

BBC News Services

If the defendants do try to continue operating GirlsDoPorn, the judge ordered them to stop lying about where the videos go. He ordered them to prominently disclose in contracts that women are shooting for GirlsDoPorn—and to send the contracts to prospective models before they set foot on an airplane. Of course, with the principals in jail or on the lam, it’s not clear how they’ll find time to try to recruit new models for the site. Young women who applied were later told the work in fact involved making pornographic videos.

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• A copy of the report obtained by The Appeal shows that she told police that she was raped by Garcia after filming her video.
• The allegations filed against them are the same as those in the civil case.
• Last year, Alexander Brian Foster pleaded guilty to creating a retaliation video meant to harass the women and their lawyers who initially sued GirlsDoPorn and Pratt.
• Women testified that men stacked equipment in front of the door to prevent them from leaving the room.
• The moderators interact with the fans, showing them photos of every new girl sitting on yet another generic four-star hotel bed.
• Young women who applied were later told the work in fact involved making pornographic videos.

“They had similar stories because the defendants told the same lies to everyone,” he said. The allegations filed against them are the same as those in the civil case. “Collectively, they have experienced severe harassment, emotional and psychological trauma, and reputational harm; lost jobs, academic and professional opportunities and family and personal relationships; and had their lives derailed and uprooted,” he continued.

But the results highlight the voices and daily experiences of many of these young women face. But experts warned that platforms have so far failed to outpace spiraling online abuse and harmful content, often implementing safeguards after problems are raised. A coalition of groups fighting gendered digital abuse in the UK, including Chayn, have also campaigned for platforms to proactively build guards against abuse. Hussain wants to see more platforms prioritize “safety-by-design” and said tech companies are now investing more in controls.