Girls Gone Wild Creator Makes Deal

Tue., Sep. 12, 2006 2:35 PM PDT by Josh Grossberg

The girls went wild. Now the ringmaster is paying the price.

Girls Gone Wild overlord Joe Francis, his Santa Monica-based Mantra Films and a related company, MRA Holdings, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of failing to document and maintain records of the age and identity of various "performers," several of whom were minors, appearing in his salacious candid-camera video series.

Francis and his companies agreed to pay a total of $2.1 million in penalties and restitution--$1.6 million from Mantra and MRA with the remaining $500,000 coming out of Francis' own pocket.

"Mantra Films, Inc., MRA Holdings Inc. and I admit that during 2002 and at times in 2003, we produced and distributed videos without obtaining the required records or attaching appropriate labeling," Francis said in a statement.

The plea agreement was entered in a U.S. District Court in Panama City, Florida, the same spring break destination where many a Girls Gone Wild segment has been shot.

In its own press release, the Justice Department said that by acknowledging wrongdoing, the boob-happy auteur becomes the first person successfully prosecuted under a new federal law requiring pornographers to maintain detailed records of all those who appear in their films as a way of ensuring that no underage children are involved.

Francis and his companies also expressed regret over footage of underage girls engaged in "sexually explicit conduct" that made it into two DVDs that were distributed commercially. A publicist for Francis had no further comment.

"This case sends an important message about the Justice Department's commitment to protecting children from all forms of sexual exploitation," said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher. "Today's agreements ensure that Girls Gone Wild will comply with an important law designed to prevent the sexual exploitation of minors and puts other producers on notice that they must be in compliance as well."

The ouevres at the center of the legal beef were Girls Gone Wild: Totally Exposed Uncensored and Beyond, On Campus Uncensored and Wild College Girls Exposed/Sexy Uncensored Sweethearts.

All things considered, the fines amount to a slap on the wrist for Francis. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that his Girls Gone Wild empire pulls in roughly $40 million annually from sales of such videos as Forbidden Spring Break, Ultimate Rush, Wet T-Shirt Strip Off and Doggy Style featuring rapper Snoop Dogg.

Aside from the guilty pleas to three counts of poor record keeping, Francis and his companies admitted to seven violations for failure to properly label the videos as required by federal law.

MRA Holdings, which faced 10 labeling violations, entered into a separate deferred agreement with the Justice Department that requires it to hire a government-sanctioned independent monitor who will have unfettered accesss to the company's records and production facilities to make sure it's adhering to the law.

If MRA stays out of trouble and fulfills its obligations, prosecutors will drop charges after three years.

Meanwhile, Francis still faces 43 counts, including racketeering, prostitution and encouraging minors to indulge in X-rated behaviors, in a separate case stemming from a video shoot in Panama City in 2003. No trial date has been set.