PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Joe Francis, founder of the 'Girls Gone Wild' empire, resolved his Florida criminal case with a plea of no contest to charges of filming underage girls, but Francis's legal woes in the Sunshine State just keep coming.
Last week four additional women sued the infomercial kingpin alleging that Francis exploited them. The women say they were 17, 16, 15 and 13 when Francis's company enticed them into participating in sexually provocative videos in 2003 and earlier.
The women are seeking unspecified monetary compensation for damages.
Francis, who had tart words for the Panama City police and city officials has so far not commented on the latest round of allegations.
The current lawsuit was filed by the same Panama City lawyers who sued Francis in 2003. Francis settled that last year. In addition, another woman sued Francis in July, claiming he got her to expose her breasts for the cameras when she was 16.
Francis went free after nearly a year in jail early this month after pleading no contest to child abuse and prostitution. He was sentenced to time served, but faces a federal tax evasion trial in Nevada.
Think about all this the next time you watch one of those late night 'Girls Gone Wild' infomercials and think, "Man, I'd like to be that guy."
