Joe Francis

When Joe Francis or his people bring cameras to a hotel room, they're usually the ones doing the filming. But reemerging in California Thursday after nearly a year behind bars, the "Girls Gone Wild" founder was the one before the cameras, for a news conference he billed as "Joe Francis Returns to L.A." Despite pleading no contest Wednesday in Florida to child abuse and prostitution charges, Francis said he was "100% innocent of those charges."

A federal judge on Monday sentenced the founder of the "Girls Gone Wild" empire to 200 hours of community service for failing to adequately document the ages of performers in his videos. The heavier-than-expected punishment handed down to Joe Francis in Los Angeles was similar to a sentence his Santa Monica-based production company, Mantra Films Inc., received in Florida last month.

A federal judge in Panama City, Fla., on Thursday ordered "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis jailed for contempt of court in a civil suit brought by seven young women who claimed the entrepreneur's film crews had placed them in sexually explicit situations. Francis, the Santa Monica-based multimillionaire who has made a fortune selling risque videos of scantily clad coeds, was ordered by U.S.

"Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis was arrested by federal marshals Tuesday in Panama City, Fla., to face a contempt-of-court citation. Francis, 34, a Santa Monica-based multimillionaire who has made a fortune selling risque videos of scantily clad women, was arrested at the Panama City Bay County International Airport. U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak in Florida had issued a warrant for Francis' arrest last week after he failed to surrender.

The founder of the risque "Girls Gone Wild" empire was indicted Wednesday on two counts of tax evasion by a federal grand jury, the latest in a series of legal woes for the Santa Monica entrepreneur. The indictment in Reno of Joe Francis, 34, follows his arrest by federal marshals Tuesday on a contempt-of-court citation stemming from a civil case in Florida, where he is being held without bail.

The millionaire founder of the "Girls Gone Wild" video empire was charged Thursday with bribing a jail guard for a bottle of water and having prescription sleeping pills in his cell, authorities said. When he learned of the new charges, Joe Francis waived his right to a bond hearing for the contempt-of-court charge that had led to his being jailed. Francis cried as his mother blew him a kiss while he was led from a federal courtroom back to his cell.

A federal judge Monday sentenced the founder of the "Girls Gone Wild" empire to 35 days in prison and fined him $5,000 after he pleaded guilty to a criminal contempt charge. Joe Francis, the Santa Monica-based multimillionaire who has made a fortune selling risque videos of scantily clad women, was arrested by federal marshals two weeks ago after he failed to meet a deadline to appear in court.

"Girls Gone Wild" video empire owner Joe Francis was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor sexual battery for allegedly touching an 18-year-old woman's breast, buttocks and inner thigh repeatedly during a party at a Hollywood eatery in January. Francis, who on Monday in a separate case was sentenced to 35 days in prison by a federal judge for criminal contempt, is slated to be arraigned May 22, said Frank Mateljan, a Los Angeles city attorney's office spokesman.

The man accused of robbing at gunpoint and extorting "Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis at his Bel-Air mansion two years ago was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to the charges. Darnell Riley, 28, had previously pleaded not guilty but accepted a plea bargain in which additional counts of burglary, kidnapping for ransom and carjacking were dismissed.

Joe Francis, the founder of the "Girls Gone Wild" empire, is humiliating me. He has my face pressed against the hood of a car, my arms twisted hard behind my back. He's pushing himself against me, shouting: "This is what they did to me in Panama City!" It's after 3 a.m. and we're in a parking lot on the outskirts of Chicago. Electronic music is buzzing from the nightclub across the street, mixing easily with the laughter of the guys who are watching this, this me-pinned-and-helpless thing.