Who is Ruben Andre Garcia? GirlsDoPorn producer gets 20 years for sex trafficking
Ruben Andre Garcia, a producer of a now-defunct California porn website was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on June 14 for tricking women into appearing in sex videos. The 31-year-old producer was charged with and found guilty of conspiracy and sex trafficking involving San Diego-based porn website, 'GirlsDoPorn.com'. Garcia was a recruiter, producer and actor in movies for the website from 2013 to 2017, the prosecutors said.
Garcia was detained alongside website co-owner Matthew Isaac Wolfe, 37, who is also facing sex trafficking charges. The site's co-creator, Michael James Pratt, is still absconding. A reward of up to $50,000 has been offered for information leading to Pratt's arrest. Garcia pleaded guilty to federal charges against him in December 2020. He was among six people charged, most of whom have pleaded guilty to federal charges.
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Garcia tricked upcoming models who answered ads into believing that they would remain anonymous and their videos wouldn't be distributed on the internet publicly but only on privately sold DVDs overseas, the prosecutors said. Garcia was well aware that the videos were posted on fee-based websites. The excerpts of the videos were also posted on free sites, including popular sites that received millions of views. Some women alleged that they were coerced or threatened into doing sex scenes for the videos. During the hearing, the judge heard from around 20 victims. Many of them also accused Garcia of sexually assaulting them. Some of the victims also narrated how they had attempted suicide after their videos were released.
According to a statement from the US attorney's office, Garcia and his accomplices sometimes forced the victims into finishing the sex videos by threatening "to sue them, cancel their flights home, and post the videos online". The statement further added, "Hotel room doors were at times blocked by camera and recording equipment, and the victims felt powerless and unable to leave. This defendant lured one victim after another with fake modeling ads, false promises and deceptive front companies, ultimately devolving to threats to coerce these women into making sex videos."
The US Department of Justice said in a news release, "Adult film performer and producer Ruben Andre Garcia was sentenced in federal court today to 20 years in prison for conspiring with the owners of the adult websites GirlsDoPorn (GDP) and GirlsDoToys (GDT) to recruit young women to appear in sex videos for adult websites using force, fraud and coercion."
"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 pleaded guilty in December 2020, admitting that as part of a premeditated scheme, Garcia recruited victims to appear in sex videos for the websites by promising them that these videos would never be posted online, that the videos would never be released in the United States, and that no one who knew the women would ever find out about the videos."
"Throughout the scheme, Garcia knew these representations were false. 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."
Who are Ruben Andre Garcia's co-conspirators?
New Zealand-born pair, website co-owner, Pratt, 36, and site's co-creator, Wolfe, 37, were found responsible for fraud and breach of contract after nearly two dozen women sued the 'GirlsDoPorn' website claiming they were coerced into making sex videos without the knowledge that the footage would be posted on the internet. While Wolfe and Garcia are in custody, Pratt remains at large.
In the civil lawsuit, the women alleged that they had applied for modeling jobs and flew to San Diego after answering Garcia's ad. They were provided hotel rooms and were told they would be making sex videos, for which they were paid $5,000. According to the LA Times, during the four-month trial, the women who testified said that they were plied with marijuana and alcohol and were forced into signing away their rights to their own images.
In some cases, the women were recorded reading the agreement over distribution but they said they were drunk and didn't understand what they were reading. They also claimed they were harassed, threatened and subject to public humiliation by Garcia and his team who made sure friends, family and work colleagues saw the online films.
