Wolfe, who pleaded guilty in July 2022 to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, was implicated in the operations of the now-defunct website GirlsDoPorn.
He moved to the U.S. in 2011 to work for Michael Pratt, the website’s owner and Wolfe’s childhood friend, after claiming that the 2011 Christchurch earthquake severely limited job opportunities at home.
Wolfe’s role included persuading women, mainly aged between 18 and 23, to appear in adult videos under the false pretense that these videos would not be posted online or distributed in the U.S., and that their identities would remain confidential.
Despite these assurances, the women’s personal information was leaked on a website dedicated to exposing sex video participants. Victims, often in financial distress, were enticed with payments up to $5,000 and all-expenses-paid trips to film the videos, which were then widely distributed online, accumulating over a billion views.
The sentencing comes after Wolfe admitted to producing about 100 videos and faced the possibility of a life sentence.
His co-conspirator, Pratt, was captured in Spain in 2022 after fleeing the U.S. and was recently extradited back to face charges. The judge, dismissing Wolfe’s defense that he played a secondary role to Pratt, emphasised his crucial involvement in the operation.
Wolfe’s sentencing was part of a broader legal action that saw two other co-offenders previously sentenced for their roles in the scheme.
