A civil trial against operators of a pornographic website, filed by women who said they were lied to before making explicit videos, is winding down in San Diego Superior Court.

The trial opened Aug. 22, and attorneys for the women said they expect to wrap up their case next week. All 22 women testified, either in person or in videotaped depositions played in court. The last of the videos was presented this week. Defense attorneys may then present their cases before Judge Kevin Enright, who is hearing the evidence without a jury.

Michael Pratt, Matthew Wolfe and Andre Garcia, involved with the GirlsDoPorn website, are accused of fraud, breach of contract and misusing the names and images of women whose sex videos were posted on the Internet. The women allege that was done despite repeated assurances that the videos would be released only on DVD to private overseas collectors.

Many of the women made one or more videos with Garcia as the male actor. Attorneys say the company made nearly $5 million off the videos made available online to paid subscribers to the website.


The three men and one woman also were indicted Oct. 10 on federal sex trafficking charges. Wolfe and Garcia were arrested, while Pratt fled the country before the federal charges were filed. He is believed to be in New Zealand.

Last week, a defense attorney said the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the federal case in San Diego, has seized evidence that he and the other defense lawyers expected to use in civil court. He said they are trying to get the evidence back, but if they can’t, their case will be hampered.

Defense lawyers asked Judge Enright to halt the civil case until the criminal case is resolved, but the judge ordered them to finish the trial. Typically, criminal cases are conducted to their conclusion before a civil trial begins.