Up until this point, what we have witnessed during the Girls Do Porn 502 civil trial involving 22 models who claim misrepresentation and coercion has been indicative of an industrywide issue. Anyone familiar with adult production knows that legitimate producers don’t pressure amateur talent into signing contracts they don’t fully comprehend under threat of legal action, while intimating that their scenes won’t ever be shown publicly.
The allegations leveled against these defendants are so serious that the Justice Department has made this case public, listing website owner Matthew Wolfe, cameraman Matthew Wolfe, on-screen talent Ruben Andre Garcia and an administrative assistant as individuals to search for. According to reports, it generated over $17 million in revenues but it remains unknown what portion may have come directly from fraudulent acts committed on its platform.
Although this case has focused on what the women allege were their financial needs and modeling ambitions being used as leverage against them, the fact that some of these women had previously competed as Miss Teen USA contestants is also raising eyebrows. With increasing public awareness comes an increase in searches related to this case on mainstream sites – evidenced by increased searches.
The FBI investigation of GDP remains open, while lawsuits from Jane Does continue to mount, yet what has become clear from reading through complaint papers, hearing testimony at civil trial hearings and interviewing victims is that their problems went far beyond mere business practices – it was a culture of manipulation, abuse and exploitation permeating every aspect of GDP’s operations.