Joe Francis, owner of the "Girls Gone Wild" video series, was sentenced to community service Wednesday and his company, Mantra Films Inc., will pay $1.6 million. The charges stemmed from Francis’ 2257 violations, as two 17-year-olds were featured in one of his videos shot during spring break of 2003.
Associated Press writer Melissa Nelson reported that U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak ordered Francis “to read aloud in court a victim impact statement from one of the women, who said she was emotionally tormented by her appearance on a "Girls Gone Wild" video and that the video damaged her relationship with her family.”
Smoak told Francis he added the community service because it did not appear a fine would be a meaningful punishment, Nelson reported.
The fine represents less than 3 percent of Mantra's profits since 2002 and only 12 percent of Mantra's 2005 profits, Smoak said.
For his part, Francis told the report that his policy has always been not to film girls under 18 and that the two filmed in Panama City lied about their ages.
According to court papers, Mantra Films, based in Santa Monica, Calif., admitted violating record-keeping and labeling laws while distributing videos during all of 2002 and part of 2003.
The report concluded by saying that Francis also faces a Jan. 22 sentencing hearing in federal court in Los Angeles on similar charges in which he has agreed to pay $500,000 in fines.
