Another Day, Another Sex Charge for Girls Guy

Wed., Apr. 25, 2007 1:29 PM PDT by Gina Serpe

Joe Francis' life has gone from sexually charged to sexual charges.

In the midst of serving a 35-day jail sentence in Florida on contempt -of-court charges and fresh off a federal indictment on multiple counts of bribery and tax evasion, the Girls Gone Wild mastermind just got himself another legal headache as prosecutors charged him with misdemeanor sexual battery.

The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office filed the single count Wednesday. The charge stems from an incident that took place at a Hollywood party on Jan. 10 in which Francis allegedly helped himself to a handful of an unwitting partygoer.

According to his 18-year-old female accuser, Francis approached her at the swanky party and touched her breasts, buttocks and inner thighs, despite her repeated protests for him to stop.

The city attorney says at least one other witness from the bash has stepped forward to back the woman's claims and is willing to testify to not only witnessing the inappropriate gropefest, but to hearing the victim plead with Francis to stop touching her.

If convicted, Francis could spend another six months behind bars and hit with a $2,000 fine.

The softcore porn purveyor is set to be arraigned on May 22, but he is not required to attend the hearing—which is fortunate, because he appears to be otherwise engaged.

A separate hearing has been scheduled for the same day in Reno for Francis' tax evasion case. According to the IRS, Francis allegedly deducted more than $20 million in false business expenses and stashed more than $15 million in offshore accounts in 2002-03.

He faces up to 10 years in prison and $500,000 in fines if convicted on those charges.

Despite his snowballing rap sheet, Francis did manage to put at least one legal woe behind him earlier this month, settling a federal exploitation lawsuit filed by seven underage girls who unwittingly appeared in one of his skin flicks—the very suit that resulted in him being put behind bars in the first place.

The adult-video peddler is currently holed up in a Bay County cell for a contempt of court charge filed after he launched into a profanity-laced tirade against both the girls and the judge involved in the mediation, who he claimed had "gone wild" regarding Francis' punishment.

Unfortunately, just one day after settling the suit, the new inmate was rung up on more charges after a security guard found prescription sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication in Francis' cell. Francis, who tried to bribe the guard with $500 to keep the stash a secret, was subsequently charged with one count of bribing a public servant, five counts of bringing contraband into a jail cell and three counts of possessing a controlled substance.

All charges are third-degree felonies and carry a maximum five-year prison sentence.

Francis also faces up to 40 years in a Florida prison if convicted on state charges in a separate case involving minors caught by his cameras during a spring break shoot in Panama City.

On Monday, the 34-year-old began making the first signs of headway in his many legal imbroglios after appearing teary and contrite in a Florida courtroom. He pleaded guilty to the original contempt-of-court charge and was sentenced to 35 days in jail—minus the 13 he's already logged behind bars—and slapped with a $5,000 fine.