The internet is a source of information, and that in it, information is abundance.
But what this also means, the internet has both the good and the bad of humanity. With so many people connected to it, the internet is collection of people's opinions, interactions, and also actions.
And Kristy Althaus, a former beauty pageant contestant, is suing Pornhub for allegedly hosting videos of her being raped on their platform.
Because of the pornographic film featuring her emerged in 2014, which is about 40-minutes long, Kristy was stripped of her title as Miss Colorado teen runner-up.
Not only that, because Kristy claims that she is a victim of sex trafficking.
The lawsuit alleges that in 2013, Kristy had only won the runner-up title, and that she was looking for a paid modeling job on Craigslist.
And at one point, she responded to an ad, and she was later flown to San Diego for "one photoshoot."
It all began when Kristy allegedly responded to an advertisement for being a model in San Diego.
But instead of getting the job she thought she would have, she was coerced into filming pornographic video when she was just 18 years old.
"Rather than the mere headshots and clothing photoshoot (sic) that she had agreed to fly to San Diego to do, Pratt began demanding that Plaintiff film nude and sexually explicit videos," the lawsuit states.
It was then realized that the modeling gig was just a bait, and that it was made by GirlsDoPorn, an American pornographic website owned and ran by Michael James Pratt.
And when Kristy refused to do the shot, Pratt and others immediately pressured her and made her drink alcohol and consume drugs.
She was allegedly fed marijuana, Xanax, and oxycodone, reports said.
When she finally gave in, she is then seen engaged in sexual acts with a man, including oral sex and sexual intercourse.
Kristy claims that Pratt filmed her in a hotel room for hours straight.
Despite her bleeding, she was forced to perform.
Kristy was "in fear for her life" at the time, the complaint says.
And after the shot was made, Pratt allegedly sent threatening text messages to Kristy, demanding more videos from her.
"Pratt threatened Plaintiff that he would release her video to the internet if Plaintiff did not comply with his demands,” the complaint reads.
"Pratt also made threatening statements to Plaintiff about knowing her personal information, such as where she lived and her social security number."
At the time, Kristy filed a federal lawsuit demanding justice for the trauma she's faced.
James Pratt was on the FBI’s most wanted list, and was captured in Spain in 2022. He was charged with sex trafficking, production of child pornography, and sex trafficking of a minor.
Another person arrested, was Andre Garcia, who was sentenced in 2020 to 20 years in prison for working with GirlsDoPorn to traffic young victims.
Then, Theodore 'Teddy' Gyi, who worked as GirlsDoPorn’s cameraman was also arrested, before pleading guilty in 2021 to lying to women about what they were going to do with the sexual content they filmed, saying it wouldn’t be posted online, according to the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of California.
Another of Pratt's GirlsDoPorn co-conspirator, Michael Isaac Wolfe, admitted to coercing about 100 “models” between the ages of 18 and 23 into making pornographic videos for their San Diego-based website, which he said would not be shared in the U.S..
"There is a high price to be paid by those who fraudulently exploit young women and forever alter their lives for profit," U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said at the time, according to the Attorney’s Office statement.
"Our prosecutors will leave no stone unturned in our effort to stop the tragedy of human trafficking and bring justice and restorative resources to its victims."
And lastly, Kristy also went after MindGeek, the company behind Pornhub, alleging that the popular porn website "knowingly and maliciously promoted" violent content originally posted on GirlsDoPorn, which was shut down in 2020, the outlet reported.
This happened because GirlsDoPorn had posted the first video of Kristy's pornographic video on the MindGeek’s network.
Since Pornhub is the largest adult websites of them all, the video was a money-making magnet.
Both MindGeek and GirlsDoPorn generated millions of dollars from the video, the complaint states.
Making things worse, GirlsDoPorn also promoted the video by referring to Kristy as "Miss Teen Colorado" in the video.
The lawsuit alleges that MindGeek knew about GirlsDoPorn's business model, which 'models' women between the age 18 to 23 who have never performed as porn stars, and that the niche is high in demand. Because of that, it alleges that Pornhub has helped maximize the reach of GirlsDoPorn, in order to benefit from its videos.
Kristy's complaint details an experience similar to hundreds of women who came forward to lawyers representing victims of GirlsDoPorn.
It's worth noting that Pratt operated another website, where he shared identifying information and social media accounts for some women being filmed on GirlsDoPorn.
The website was dedicated to revealing the true identities of the women appearing in those pornographic videos, “causing the victims to be subjected to severe harassment,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release.
Before Kristie, another beauty pageant tricked into shooting porn with GirlsDoPorn, was Miss Delaware Teen USA.
Melissa King from Bethany Beach, was forced to resign her crown, after it was found that she had starred in an amateur pornographic video that is shared on the internet.