Spanish police announced today the arrest of one of the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives who was staying at a Madrid hotel with a fake ID.
Michael James Pratt, a New Zealand citizen, was sentenced to life in prison in the US for child pornography, sexual exploitation and sexual harassment.
Police said Pratt was involved in the production of audiovisual pornography, recruiting underage girls and young women through deception between 2012 and 2019. Pratt earned over $17 million from this activity.
Only 57 of the FBI’s most wanted list were arrested outside the jurisdiction of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, Spanish authorities said, adding that this was the first time such a thing had happened in Spain.
The police noted that the fugitive posted online ads for “modeling” jobs, which turned out to be pornographic videos.
He paid other women to act as “bait” and convince the victims that the material would not be released online.
At times, victims were detained against their will and forced to perform sexual acts to which they expressly refused to consent, police added.
🚩Detenido en #Madrid un fugitivo neozelandés, included in the list of 10 most wanted cases #FBI
Fue condenado a cadena perpetua en #EEYU for the crimes of child pornography, sexual exploitation, sexual aggression and illegal proceeds, llegando a ganar +17 million dollars pic.twitter.com/E9uLKMaGw9
— National Police (@policia) December 23, 2022
Source: Kathimerini
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