PANAMA CITY, FL — Joe Francis and his Girls Gone Wild crew just got some much-needed good news from the legal system.Several years prior to contending with accusations of rape in Akron, OH, the infamous production company ran into trouble when it was revealed that two of the young Panama City, FL women who showed their all for the cameras — were a little too young to be doing so legally. This resulted in Francis’ arrest and more than 40 criminal charges being made against him in 2003, including racketeering.
Now, Assistant State Attorney Mark Graham says he can only support second-degree felony charges against Francis, his company, and its employees. This drops the number of charges to a mere eight — but they are still eight serious felonies, and could result in 15 years in prison if Francis and company are found guilty.
Among the charges that Graham will still pursue, is the use of children in a sexual performance. The minors involved were both 17-years-old at the time of taping.
Francis may be able to dodge even these eight charges if his attorneys get their wish, which is to have them dropped at the upcoming January 3rd hearing. According to defense attorney Aaron Dyer, his client should not need to defend against the charges due to police misconduct.
The 22 charges which have already been dismissed were set aside in July when a judge concluded that there was a lack of evidence, since investigators searching Francis’ condominium and private jet did not have their search warrants in order.
Francis’ attorneys have attempted to defend the actions of the Girls Gone Wild crew by pointing out that the girls claimed that they were 18-years-old and signed model releases stating as much. Graham — and, likely, the minds behind the federal government’s 2257 identification regulations, which Francis has so far paid $2.1 million for having violated — contends that “Whether the minor girls lied about their ages is irrelevant to the criminal charge.”
A federal civil lawsuit against Francis has been filed by the two young women.
