Michael Pratt, owner of GirlsDoPorn, pleads guilty to multiple sex trafficking counts
Christchurch-born pornographer Michael James Pratt pleaded guilty to multiple sex trafficking counts in the federal court in San Diego on Thursday.
The owner of adult website GirlsDoPorn had been awaiting trial after initially pleading not guilty following his arrest and extradition from Spain to the United States.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
19 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Sex workers battle Queenstown strip shows
A sex workers' collective is calling for a new Queenstown bar featuring strip shows to be shut down as it is not operating under an "adult entertainment" liquor licence. The Ultimate Man Cave Seek — 40% owned by controversial Christchurch-based strip club chain Calendar Girls — opened last Friday in underground Church St premises formerly occupied by the Seek nightclub. Promotions for the venue's first two nights depicted two strippers around a pole and promised "lap dancers, private rooms, karaoke, gaming — whatever you desire we're here to provide". However, Calendar Girls founder James Samson said the bar was primarily a sports tavern, which only had Calendar Girls strip shows, lap dances and pole dancing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 9pm. Early this year, Christchurch-based Alan Samson Ltd, whose sole director is James Samson's mother, Vicki Samson, bought 40% of Seek Night Club Ltd with the intention of buying the remaining shares over 18 months. Mr Samson is barred from owning a company after being jailed on drugs charges. Seek Night Club Ltd then applied for an adult entertainment liquor licence, which attracted a total of 71 written objections. The Queenstown Lakes District Council confirmed "there is currently no date set for a hearing". In its application, Seek Night Club Ltd said when it reopened it would remain a tavern until its adult entertainment liquor licence was granted. Sex workers union Fired Up Stilettos chairwoman Bianca Beebe said "we were really surprised to learn they're able to reopen on an expired tavern licence, particularly since the police objected very strongly to the idea you can operate a strip club on a tavern licence". Though that licence had expired, "you're allowed to continue operating your licence if you have already applied for a renewal" — which had been in train since mid-last year, the council confirmed. A tavern licence permits "entertainment", which Ms Beebe said she thought was being used as a loophole to allow Calendar Girls to run strip shows at the venue. "Unfortunately, neither in statutory or case law does it define what entertainment is." She said the situation was "making a mockery of all of Queenstown's restrictions, and honestly I don't understand how every business owner who has a legitimate licence isn't furious". "I would ask if Queenstown council wants to be a joke. "Seek/Calendar Girls were told they cannot operate a strip club on a tavern licence, and here they are explicitly advertising for and operating a strip club under a tavern licence." Ms Beebe questioned whether the council was going to be played for a fool, "or are you going to do something about this?" Queenstown Mayor Glyn Lewers said his regulatory team was preparing a report for the district licensing committee on whether the venue could operate under its existing tavern licence due to the "entertainment" provision. "There is case law that defines what a tavern is, but there's nothing that talks about entertainment that we can see. "From my point of view, there is a grey area. "Look, they might be testing the limits on 'entertainment' with respect to a tavern, but I'm not the decision-maker here." Asked if lap dancing and nude dancing were normal entertainment in a tavern, Mr Lewers said "I might be old school". "[For me] it's turning up for a jug with your mates with a bit of pool and watching a bit of sport on TV and the occasional meat raffle." Asked if council could apply some urgency to its decision-making , he responded: "look, like with all legislation from central government, they've got timeframes to meet". As for the adult entertainment licence application, "we'll prepare a report and take into account all the submissions". "That report will then go to the district licensing committee, and if the applicant wants to pursue that licence, that will go to a hearing and that hearing will be made public, and it will be on our website." Mr Samson, however, said he would now withdraw the application for an adult entertainment licence. Last September, a petition trying to stop Calendar Girls coming to Queenstown was launched by a dancer from existing local strip club Soho. Spurred by concerns over Mr Samson's link to Calendar Girls and over the chain's alleged "labour exploitation", it attracted 1724 signatures before it was pulled by its host website.
RNZ News
21 hours ago
- RNZ News
Fuel tank left open caused large diesel spill at Christchurch prison
About 16,000 litres of diesel flowed out of the tank at Christchurch Men's Prison, and only about 2000 litres were able to be recovered. File photo. Photo: Luke McPake / The Wireless About 14,000 litres of diesel has leached into the ground at Christchurch Men's Prison, after the hatch of a fuel tank was left open. The mistake, first reported by RNZ on 6 June , has potentially affected the water supply of neighbouring properties Corrections custodial services commissioner Leigh Marsh said the overflow was identified on 25 May, when diesel was found in cable pits and underground infrastructure, but there was no evidence it had seeped into the ground at that time. Contractors had been investigating an issue with diesel heating and a backup system in a block at Christchurch Men's Prison. "Both Christchurch Men's and Christchurch Women's prison run off bore water, so we were very concerned if it was to go to soil that that water would be impacted so we immediately started testing, and there was no evidence to say immediately that that had gone to ground," he said. WorkSafe, Fire and Emergency and Canterbury Regional Council were notified. Daily testing of the prison bore water supply and surrounding soil began on 26 May and was extended to a 200-metre radius outside the prison perimeter two days later. The samples remained clear until 6 June, when a sample taken from a bore on 28 May from 200 metres outside the prison perimeter came back positive for dissolved hydrocarbon, while the other samples remained clear. Corrections then visited 40 properties south east of the prison and advised eight to stop using water from their private bores for drinking, cooking or feeding stock or animals and use water from other sources until the potential contamination was addressed. It remained safe for showering and washing. Marsh said the majority of properties visited were vacant or were using the town water supply, not bore water. If a property had not been visited by Corrections, or had a letter left in their absence, they were able to continue using their bore water, he said. No diesel had been detected in the bores which supplied the prison, or in the stock water in the prison farms and there was no impact on prison operations, Marsh said. There are two 20,000 litre fuel tanks at Christchurch Mens Prison, which hold the majority of its diesel, and a 1000-litre local tank which powers the heating of most of its buildings. The large tanks were being replaced by Downer, with a temporary fuel tank installed while the work was carried out. "It looks like that installation hasn't gone as planned and as a result, the diesel has gone from the big tank into the smaller tank, which feeds some of the prison systems. "The large tank was able to continuously feed into the small one and it appears that an inspection hatch on the top of the smaller tank hadn't been attached properly." Marsh said about 16,000 litres of diesel had flowed out of the tank, and only about 2000 litres were able to be recovered. On 30 May, it was found diesel might have soaked into the ground through a crack in the floor of a switch room. "It appeared that some of the diesel had gone into the ground at that point but our water testing continued to show that it was clear," he said. Marsh said advice from the Canterbury Regional Council, Fire and Emergency and other scientific advisors was the diesel spill had not gone beyond that building, but as a precaution it began taking soil samples from a wider area, predominantly focused on where geologists said water would potentially flow underground. The incident was being investigated and the exact cause was not yet known, but it appeared to be related to the installation and change over to a new fuel tank, he said. Both tanks had since been lifted and checked for leaks, but the programme to replace the tanks had been stopped while the investigation was carried out. A Downer spokesperson said it took immediate action following the diesel spill to determine the cause of the incident and to maintain site safety. "We will continue to work closely with the New Zealand Department of Corrections, along with all relevant local stakeholders and regulatory authorities to manage the response, undertake thorough testing, and determine next steps." Marsh said Corrections was focused on tracking any contamination and ensuring residents had the appropriate information if it appeared in their bores. Advice it received from geologists and scientists was a layer of clay under the soil in the region would limit the spread of the fuel. "It won't pass through the clay, so it's not going to hit down to the aquifer, but it's how much it moves along above that into what is quite a granitey, gravelly soil from the clay up." The regional council said Corrections was leading the response to the diesel spill with its support and that of Health New Zealand. General manager of regulatory implementation Paul Hulse said monitoring work was ongoing to understand what, if any, impact there might be from diesel entering the groundwater. "As a precaution, on Friday 6 June Department of Corrections notified residents downgradient of the site with advice from Health New Zealand to not use water from their private bore for domestic use," he said. Of the 40 properties visited, some were vacant and some were on town supply so were not affected. Affected households should discontinue using their private supply for irrigation and stock use, he said. Residents would be kept informed, including when they could resume use of their private bore. WorkSafe said it was making enquiries to understand the circumstances of the incident. Taumata Arowai did not respond to RNZ's request for comment. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Sex workers' collective calls for bar to be shut
A sex workers' collective is calling for a new Queenstown bar featuring strip shows to be shut down as it is not operating under an "adult entertainment" liquor licence. The Ultimate Man Cave Seek — 40% owned by controversial Christchurch-based strip club chain Calendar Girls — opened last Friday in underground Church St premises formerly occupied by the Seek nightclub. Promotions for the venue's first two nights depicted two strippers around a pole and promised "lap dancers, private rooms, karaoke, gaming — whatever you desire we're here to provide". However, Calendar Girls founder James Samson said the bar was primarily a sports tavern, which only had Calendar Girls strip shows, lap dances and pole dancing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 9pm. Early this year, Christchurch-based Alan Samson Ltd, whose sole director is James Samson's mother, Vicki Samson, bought 40% of Seek Night Club Ltd with the intention of buying the remaining shares over 18 months. Mr Samson is barred from owning a company after being jailed on drugs charges. Seek Night Club Ltd then applied for an adult entertainment liquor licence, which attracted a total of 71 written objections. The Queenstown Lakes District Council confirmed "there is currently no date set for a hearing". In its application, Seek Night Club Ltd said when it reopened it would remain a tavern until its adult entertainment liquor licence was granted. Sex workers union Fired Up Stilettos chairwoman Bianca Beebe said "we were really surprised to learn they're able to reopen on an expired tavern licence, particularly since the police objected very strongly to the idea you can operate a strip club on a tavern licence". Though that licence had expired, "you're allowed to continue operating your licence if you have already applied for a renewal" — which had been in train since mid-last year, the council confirmed. A tavern licence permits "entertainment", which Ms Beebe said she thought was being used as a loophole to allow Calendar Girls to run strip shows at the venue. "Unfortunately, neither in statutory or case law does it define what entertainment is." She said the situation was "making a mockery of all of Queenstown's restrictions, and honestly I don't understand how every business owner who has a legitimate licence isn't furious". "I would ask if Queenstown council wants to be a joke. "Seek/Calendar Girls were told they cannot operate a strip club on a tavern licence, and here they are explicitly advertising for and operating a strip club under a tavern licence." Ms Beebe questioned whether the council was going to be played for a fool, "or are you going to do something about this?" Queenstown Mayor Glyn Lewers said his regulatory team was preparing a report for the district licensing committee on whether the venue could operate under its existing tavern licence due to the "entertainment" provision. "There is case law that defines what a tavern is, but there's nothing that talks about entertainment that we can see. "From my point of view, there is a grey area. "Look, they might be testing the limits on 'entertainment' with respect to a tavern, but I'm not the decision-maker here." Asked if lap dancing and nude dancing were normal entertainment in a tavern, Mr Lewers said "I might be old school". "[For me] it's turning up for a jug with your mates with a bit of pool and watching a bit of sport on TV and the occasional meat raffle." Asked if council could apply some urgency to its decision-making , he responded: "look, like with all legislation from central government, they've got timeframes to meet". As for the adult entertainment licence application, "we'll prepare a report and take into account all the submissions". "That report will then go to the district licensing committee, and if the applicant wants to pursue that licence, that will go to a hearing and that hearing will be made public, and it will be on our website." Mr Samson, however, said he would now withdraw the application for an adult entertainment licence. Last September, a petition trying to stop Calendar Girls coming to Queenstown was launched by a dancer from existing local strip club Soho. Spurred by concerns over Mr Samson's link to Calendar Girls and over the chain's alleged "labour exploitation", it attracted 1724 signatures before it was pulled by its host website.
