Another associate, Valorie Moser, who the authorities said helped recruit the women, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion.

Mr. Wolfe, Mr. Garcia and Ms. Moser pleaded not guilty in the criminal case.

The authorities said in October that Mr. Pratt, who is originally from New Zealand, had left the country and was considered a fugitive. During the civil trial in San Diego, only one defendant, Mr. Wolfe, appeared in court, and “provided guarded, and at times inconsistent testimony,” Judge Enright wrote.

“The tentative ruling does not affect the criminal case,” Mr. Kaplan and Mr. Sadock said in a joint statement. “The government’s burden of proof in the criminal case is ‘beyond a reasonable doubt,’ which is much higher standard than in this civil lawsuit where the burden of proof is a mere preponderance of the evidence.”

Judge Enright found that the women had been lured with Craiglist ads that offered to pay them around $5,000 for photos or video shoots. The ads did not indicate that any nudity or pornography would be involved.

“Wanted,” one ad read, “beautiful college type preppy girls,” for video and photo shoots.

The women who responded to the ads said they were directed to innocuous websites, with pictures of clothed women, that asked for their contact information and photographs.

The ads turned out to be from the producers of GirlsDoPorn, who were seeking women to make so-called amateur pornography, which often features fresh-faced actresses paired with seasoned male performers.

Once a newly recruited woman had flown to San Diego, she found herself alone in a hotel room with two men about to shoot a pornographic video, Judge Enright wrote.