I’m so happy to report today that Michael J. Pratt has finally been captured. After hiding out in his native New Zealand for a while, he got cocky, thinking they wouldn’t ever find him, and took a little trip to Spain for the holidays, and he is now in custody and awaiting extradition to the US to face 19 counts including sex trafficking, production of child pornography and sex trafficking of a minor, conspiracy to launder money and many other related crimes to his operation known as “Girls Do Porn,” which is a website now taken down. His co-conspirators have all been caught, tried, and found guilty.

Here is the statement from the FBI about his capture.

FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Michael James Pratt was arrested earlier this week by Spanish authorities. Pratt is charged in a 19-count indictment with sex trafficking, production of child pornography, sex trafficking of a minor, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments in connection with the operation of the GirlsDoPorn adult website. Pratt has been a fugitive since 2019 and was named to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List earlier this year.

Pratt was arrested by Spanish National Police on December 21, 2022, in Madrid, Spain, pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. Pratt is being held in Spain pending extradition.

“The capture of Michael Pratt is an example of how the FBI will pursue justice beyond U.S. borders—you can run but you can’t hide,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Stacey Moy of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Thank you to our determined FBI San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force and to our federal and international partners for their commitment to making sure that Michael Pratt is brought to justice.”

SAC Moy would like to thank the Spanish National Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their coordination in the arrest of Michael Pratt, and the public for their assistance in this investigation.

Pratt was the 529th person to be placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which was established in 1950. Additional information concerning Pratt and the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives can be found by visiting the FBI’s website at fbi.gov/topten.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Any additional victims of the alleged crime are encouraged to call the FBI National Threat Operations Center at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).