A former pageant queen claims she was raped and forced to make pornographic films in a new lawsuit against Pornhub and its parent company, MindGeek, which changed its name to Aylo in August.
Kristy Althaus, the runner-up in the Miss Teen Colorado 2021 pageant before her crown was stripped due to leaked pornographic videos, is suing the porn giant for allowing videos from GirlsDoPorn.com, the defunct pornography website founded by former FBI Most Wanted fugitive Michael James Pratt, to be distributed online.
“Threatened, coerced, and physically and sexually assaulted, Plaintiffs were forced to submit to the demands of GirlsDoPorn’s sex-trafficking business, fully supported by MindGeek’s vast online network,” the federal suit filed on Sept. 8 said.
The lawsuit alleges that in 2013, after winning the runner-up title, Althaus continued to advertise paid modeling gigs on Craigslist, and GirlsDoPorn flew her to San Diego for “one photo shoot (sic).”
He was 18 at the time.
“From the headshots and photoshoots of clothes (sic) that he had agreed to fly to San Diego, Pratt began demanding that the Plaintiff shoot nude and sexually explicit videos. When Plaintiff refused, Pratt, now 41, and his co-conspirators quickly pressured her and drugged her with liquor and pills to soften her refusal,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint further alleges that Pratt took Althaus’s cell phone during filming and only gave it back to her afterward.
Former beauty queen Kristy Althaus is suing PornHub and its parent company for allowing videos from GirlsDoPorn.com on the site.AP
GirlsDoPorn Pratt co-conspirator Michael Isaac Wolfe admitted to coercing about 100 “models” between the ages of 18 and 23 to make pornographic videos for their San Diego-based website, which he said would not be shared in the United States.
The government shut down GirlsDoPorn in October 2019.
Wolfe admitted to posting the video on the GirlsDoPorn US website for public viewing.
He also said he trained cameraman and co-accused Theodore Gyi on how to shoot videos – training that included instruction on how to tell the women in the videos that they would not be posted on the internet.
Althaus claims she was “threatened, coerced, and physically and sexually assaulted” when forced to do scenes for a website founded by Michael James Pratt.FBI
In addition, Wolfe admitted that Pratt also operated a website called Pornwikileaks.com with identifying information and social media accounts for some of the women who were recorded.
The website is dedicated to revealing the true identity of the women who appear in the sex videos, “causing victims to experience severe harassment,” the DOJ said in a press release last year.
Pratt, Wolfe and two other men were present as they allegedly forced Althaus to shoot the pornographic film in a San Diego hotel room. Althaus was “in fear for his life” at the time, the complaint said.
“Unfortunately, GirlsDoPorn posted Plaintiff’s first video on the MindGeek network, and it became very successful. MindGeek and GirlsDoPorn make millions of dollars from Plaintiff’s videos,” the complaint states. They also allegedly promoted the video by referring to Althaus as “Miss Teen Colorado” in the video.
Pratt was arrested last year in Spain after being on the FBI’s Most Wanted fugitive list.PolicÃa Nacional/Twitter
Althaus reportedly lost her Miss Teen Colorado runner-up crown after the video surfaced.
Aylo, formerly of MindGeek, told Fox News Digital in a statement that his “number one priority” is the “safety” of his community.
“[W]e is proud to have implemented a Trust and Security policy that surpasses any other major user generated platform on the internet. Our compliance program has helped us set the standard for the technology industry, and we are committed to staying at the forefront of this important area,” said Aylo. “Out of respect for the integrity of court proceedings, our policy is not to comment on ongoing litigation. We look forward to a full and fair disclosure of the facts in that forum.”
After the first video was shot, Althaus began his freshman year of college.
At the time, Pratt allegedly threatened and blackmailed her into filming more pornographic content for GirlsDoPorn.
The lawsuit alleges that GirlsDoPorn’s sex trafficking is “completely suppressed by MindGeek’s vast online network.” Shutterstock / burakguler
The lawsuit also alleges Pratt forced Althaus to perform oral sex on her and threatened her with a gun.
“Despite actual or constructive knowledge that GirlsDoPorn used force, deception and coercion to film young women in pornographic videos, MindGeek continued to offer its global platform, internet distribution channels and financial lifeline to GirlsDoPorn’s criminal enterprise for over a decade,” Althaus’ lawsuit states.
Pratt is accused of participating in a conspiracy to recruit young women and girls to engage in commercial sex acts by using force, fraud and coercion.
He allegedly did so by telling the women and girls that they would be paid $3,000 to $5,000 for a day of pornographic videos.
However, in several instances, Pratt and his assistant allegedly locked women in a room until explicit videos were recorded and forced some women to perform sexual acts they initially refused to perform, according to the FBI.
According to the lawsuit, GirlsDoPorn even “went so far as to hire actresses to impersonate former models and assure new recruits of their privacy and safety. These paid ‘referrals’ give prospective models the false comfort that the experience is safe and fun, and that the fake referral videos never appeared online or been found by anyone in the reference’s life”
Althaus was unable to maintain a job or a healthy relationship and “was repeatedly followed and harassed,” according to the lawsuit.
“From May-June 2023, Plaintiff was attacked at her home by a self-described Pornhub customer who confronted her about the recent removal of the subject video from Defendant’s website,” the complaint states. “The client did not act alone and with other male individuals who intimidated the Plaintiff.”
“Plaintiff fears for his life and safety, as well as the lives and safety of those close to him,” the complaint continued.
Althaus is one of dozens of victims who have brought similar claims against GirlsDoPorn and websites like Pornhub that promoted the since-shuttered website’s content, “making millions of dollars in revenue,” the lawsuit said.
Pratt was arrested in Spain last year after spending years on the run from law enforcement.
MindGeek changed its name to Aylo on August 17th.
“Our goal is for ‘Aylo’ to be synonymous with our core principles: innovation, diverse and inclusive adult content and trust and safety. We wanted a fresh start, so we chose a name that gives us that freedom, so that our team and our new owners can define it the way we want,” Aylo management said in a statement last month. “Thank you to all employees for their unwavering commitment over the years and for their valuable input throughout this rebranding process.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
