WASHINGTON, DC (January 3, 2024) – In a new decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, a child sexual abuse survivor won her appeal (Jane Doe v. WebGroup Czech Republic et al) against XVideos and its parent company, WebGroup Czech Republic (WGCZ), with a finding by the Court that Jane Doe had sufficiently alleged facts to establish U.S. jurisdiction against the foreign based WGCZ. According to her lawsuit, videos of her childhood sexual abuse were sold, published, and distributed on websites owned and operated by XVideos who distributed these images to U.S. audiences for profit. This ruling reverses the trial judge’s earlier dismissal on jurisdictional grounds allowing the lawsuit to proceed.
“This decision ensures that foreign websites cannot avoid accountability in the United States, on jurisdictional grounds, when they target the U.S. market and profit from child sexual abuse material of U.S. children. We are grateful that the court ruled for this courageous plaintiff, as it moves her one more step closer to justice,” said Dani Pinter, senior legal counsel, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, one of the plaintiff’s law firms. “This appellate decision is binding precedent for the 9th Circuit and will likely have a significant impact across the United States for survivors.”
As a child, Jane Doe was trafficked and sold for sex. Many of these sex acts were recorded on video and uploaded to the XVideos website. At least four videos that included Jane Doe being trafficked as a minor have been identified on WGCZ sites. At least one “content partner” and official “channel” on XVideos disseminated these illegal videos of Jane Doe’s rape.
The lawsuit alleges that neither XVideos, nor any other website, owned or operated by these Defendants undertook any measure to verify Jane Doe’s identity or age. As a result, child sex abuse material depicting Jane Doe was distributed broadly throughout the world on XVideos internet websites. During the time that XVideos distributed and advertised this child sex abuse material, it profited financially through the sale of advertising and by drawing users to its websites to view the videos.
The plaintiff is represented by the following survivor-focused and commercial litigation law firms:
- Clark Hill, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
- The Zarzaur Law Firm of Birmingham, Alabama;
- Prince Glover Hayes, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama;
- Levin Papantonio Rafferty, of Pensacola, Florida;
- Laffey, Bucci & Kent, LLP, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and
- The National Center on Sexual Exploitation, of Washington D.C.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation Law Center offers survivors of pornography-related abuse a way to seek justice. More information can be found at: https://sexualexploitationlawsuits.com.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-partisan organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
