Joe Francis, the infamous entrepreneur behind the sleazy “Girls Gone Wild” video series, will be going wild behind bars. Francis was found guilty on Monday of assault and false imprisonment in an incident involving three women he met at a Hollywood club.
Court documents say that, on January 29, 2011, Francis met the three victims at the Supper Club in Hollywood. Francis took the women into his limousine under the pretense of giving them a ride back to their car. Instead, they found themselves at Francis’ home, and Francis attempted to separate the group by leading one of the women into a different room. Francis allegedly grabbed one of the women by her hair and throat and the smashed her head into the floor.
Francis was convicted of three counts of false imprisonment, one count of assault causing great bodily injury, and one count of dissuading a witness. He faces up to five years in prison, and has a sentence hearing later this week.
“This is a total joke!” he told the Daily News shortly after his conviction on Monday. “It did not happen, and that mentally challenged jury should be put in jail!”
Francis has been in trouble with the law several times in the past. As the producer of the video series, “Girls Gone Wild,” the age and consent of two Florida girls featured in one of his products was called into legal question. The jury ruled in favor of Francis. The entrepreneur has also been to court for slanderous statements he made against Steve Wynn, and several charges relating to tax evasion and fraud.
Francis has previously spent 339 days in a Florida state prison, due to complications surrounding his arrest for racketeering in Palm Beach. Though the charges were dismissed, he pled guilty to record keeping violations, and was found with contraband in his prison cell.
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