ARCHIVED - Porn website boss on FBI 10 most wanted list is captured in Spanish hotel

The New Zealander, sentenced to life imprisonment in the US, was arrested in Madrid

One of the FBI's most wanted fugitives has been arrested by Spanish police in Madrid in a legal first in Spain.

Michael James Pratt was given a life sentence in the US for sexual exploitation and sexual assault, and producing child sexual abuse images before fleeing to Spain.

He was captured at a hotel in Madrid where he had been staying under a false name.

According to police sources, the sexual predator, who co-owned owned a website called GirlsDoPorn, recruited underage girls and young women through deception between 2012 and 2019.

It's believed he made almost 15 million euros from his illicit activities, placing online adverts in the US and Canada offering modelling jobs that actually resulted in pornographic recordings.

Investigators say the women were promised that the videos were for a private collector overseas and that they would remain anonymous. The New Zealander even went so far as to pay other women to act as 'bait' and gain the trust of victims, convincing them the recorded footage would not be published or shared online.

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Police said some of the unsuspecting victims were reportedly held against their will and forced to carry out sexual acts.

“Pratt has victimised hundreds of young women through the course of this conspiracy,” said Supervisory Special Agent Renee Green with the FBI’s San Diego Field Office.

"One victim was under the age of 18 during her encounter with Pratt, according to court documents and investigators. Other victims reported being forced into sexual acts to which they did not consent, as well as being threatened and intimidated by Pratt and his partners when they learned their videos were posted to his websites and wanted them removed."

In September, the FBI placed Pratt on its 10 most wanted list, and offered a reward for information that led to his apprehension: "The owner and operator of a pornography production company, who is charged with sex trafficking and production of child pornography, now has a place on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The FBI is offering $100,000 (94,000 euros) for information that leads directly to his arrest."

Spanish authorities have since confirmed that this is the first time a criminal on the FBI's most wanted list has been arrested in Spain - one of just 57 to be detained outside the bureau's jurisdiction.

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Image: FBI