Aylo Asks Judge to Narrow Sex Trafficking Claims in Lawsuit

LOS ANGELES—Counsel for Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub and its affiliated companies, has asked a federal district judge to trim a lawsuit alleging trafficking claims filed by a victim of the GirlsDoPorn sex trafficking ring.  Jane Doe, formerly known as Kristy Althaus, filed a lawsuit last September in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She accuses Aylo of profiting from her trafficking and abuse by advertising her videos through the content partnership program. GirlsDoPorn was a part of the content partnership program hosted by Pornhub before it was revealed that the studio, led by Michael James Pratt, defrauded and trafficked dozens of women. "Our concern is, what this complaint does, is it explodes it into all sorts of places where it really doesn't need to be," said attorney Marc E. Mayer, who was quoted in coverage of a recent hearing on the matter by Law360.com.  Mayer represents eight of the nine defendants named in Doe's initial complaint. He is a partner at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP in Los Angeles. Before U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald, Mayer argued that defendants were "improperly grouped ... together without alleging how each defendant participated in the alleged wrongdoing." He added he doesn't wish to dismiss the mention of trafficking but rather narrow the claims to fall under provisions of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. Doe alleges violations of the act, including violations of California anti-trafficking laws and the Lanham Act. Doe, when she was still going by Althaus, was a runner-up in a teen beauty pageant in Colorado. She was doxxed shortly after appearing in a viral scene for GirlsDoPorn. It became the most popular video on Pornhub in 2014. In her lawsuit, Doe also alleged that she was trapped in a hotel room in an intoxicated state. Doe argued in the lawsuit: "Pratt and his conspirators deceived, coerced, and forced plaintiff to perform sexual acts on film. ... Production of the video took approximately 9-10 hours, and included protracted filming of plaintiff's non-consensual sex — i.e. rape." AVN reported that Doe also claims that she was forced into performing in scenes because of fear for her personal safety and that of her family. Exhibits presented in the complaint include a message chain screenshotted by Doe showing Pratt threatening her with the “graveyard.” Doe was forced to change her name as a means to regain a level of privacy after her name was released by GirlsDoPorn. Last month, Michael James Pratt, who founded the GirlsDoPorn website, appeared for the first time in a San Diego federal district court on the 19-count indictment against him on charges including sex trafficking, production of child pornography and money laundering. Pratt pleaded not guilty. The degree of Aylo's involvement is central to Doe's lawsuit, nonetheless. Doe claims that Pornhub circulated and profited from Doe’s exploitation for several years, including up to GirlsDoPorn’s official shuttering and the suspension of the studio’s content partnership with Pornhub at the time.  Aylo settled a 30-month criminal investigation into Pornhub's involvement in the GirlsDoPorn scheme through a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). The Aylo DPA permits federal courts to hold Aylo liable for any restitution.