Girls Gone Wild owner arrested [Archive]

Curly Howard

04-05-2003, 11:15 AM

APRIL 4--The owner of the "Girls Gone Wild" video empire was arrested yesterday on racketeering charges after Florida cops learned that several underage girls were filmed topless and bathing together at a local motel. Investigators allege that Joseph Francis, 30, and his cohorts filmed the minors last week during spring break festivities in Panama City. According to cops, the "Girls Gone Wild" team brought two of the girls to a motel where they were each paid $100 for undressing, showering together, and masturbating as they sat on the side of the bathtub. Investigators also allege that Francis offered two of the girls $50 "to touch or play with his penis," and that he and the "Girls Gone Wild" photographer both knew that the girls were all underage. Along with arresting Francis and three of the multimillionaire's associates, cops executed search warrants on Francis's condominium and his corporate Lear jet. Those raids yielded a variety of electronic equipment, cocaine, and evidence of personal use of Ecstasy and pot. Most importantly, cops reported, they found explicit video of the underage girls who had told cops of their March 31 encounter with Francis & Co. In light of these allegations, it makes you wonder whether the previous "Girls Gone Wild" productions (which have raked in nearly $100 million) may also contain kiddie ****.