No Guilt Trip for Girls Guy
As Joe Francis tells it, he's a hands-off kind of guy.
The Girls Gone Wild founder pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor count of sexual battery stemming from an 18-year-old woman's allegation that he groped her against her will in January.
The alleged victim claimed in court documents that Francis touched her breasts, buttocks and inner thighs at a birthday party in Hollywood, even after she asked him repeatedly to stop.
Francis was not required to attend the hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court, prosecutors confirmed, and entered his plea through his attorney, Aaron Dyer, who characterized the charges as "ridiculous."
Of course, even had Francis wanted to put in an appearance in L.A., he might have had a tough time getting there.
After serving 35 days in a Florida prison for contempt of court, the soft-porn impresario is currently being detained in Oklahoma while he awaits transfer to Reno, Nevada, where he faces federal tax-evasion charges.
Originally scheduled to appear before the judge on Tuesday, Francis is expected to make the trip via ConAir, the no-frills prisoner transport airline operated by the U.S. Marshals, later this week.
The IRS has accused him of writing off more than $20 million in false business expenses on his 2002 and 2003 tax returns and of hiding an additional $15 million in an offshore bank account.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Once Francis tends to his legal issues in Reno, he's due to be shipped back to Bay County, Florida, to face trial on separate felony counts involving filming minors in sexual situations and smuggling contraband into prison in April.
Earlier this month, Florida prosecutors battled to keep Francis detained in Panama City so he could resolve the state charges against him before moving on to deal with the federal charges, but a judge ruled that the federal charges took precedence.
Meanwhile, Francis is also scheduled to return to Los Angeles on June 26 for a pretrial hearing in the groping case. If convicted of that charge, he faces a maximum of six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Dyer vowed Tuesday that the Girls guy would "vigorously defend himself and take whatever action necessary to clear his name.
"The allegations made by the alleged victim claiming she was 'touched' are ridiculous. There is absolutely no merit to these charges. Mr. Francis is a successful man in a high-profile position, and unfortunately that makes him a target of people who hope to benefit in some way from attacking him," Dyer said in a statement.
"Mr. Francis isn't going to sit by and put up with these types of baseless attacks. He will vigorously defend himself and take whatever action necessary to clear his name," the lawyer continued.
"We believe that the court or the city attorney's office will ultimately be convinced to dismiss this matter."
The Big Picture
Two Peas in a Pod Los Angeles Lakers fans Fergie and Will.i.am show their support for the home team in unison
More PhotosMost Commented
- Bitch-Back! Breaking News—Johnny's a Hottie (1026)
- Costars and Suits Give Robsten Their Blessings! (650)
- Blab Blab Blab: Is Twilight Sexist? (552)
- Truth, Lies & Ted: Twilight Special (478)
- Why Won't Sarah Palin Go Away? (440)
- Bitch-Back! What's Brad Got to Do With It? (426)
- Is New Moon Even Good? (455)
- Is Ugly Betty Ending? And Who Gets the Girl? (411)
- Review: New Moon Is Either Just Fine or Way Mopey, Depending On Who You Are (330)
- Ridiculous Twilight Hookups in an "All Taken" Cast (348)
Top 10 Stories
- Michael Jackson's Cash-Strapped Doctor Returns to Work
- Taylor Swift Tops Even Michael Jackson at American Music Awards
- Carrie Prejean the Hot Topic at Miss California USA Pageant
- New Moon Makes a Lot of Money (But Not Quite Batman Money)
- Jon (Plus Flowers) & Kate Reunite to Put Finishing Touches on Divorce
- New Moon Eclipses Dark Knight!
- Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray & More Continue Singing Oprah's Praises
- Michael Jackson's Doc Shipped Propofol From Vegas to L.A., Records Show
- Unleashed Fangirls Derail Justin Bieber Appearance
- Miley Cyrus' Tour Bus in Deadly Crash
Fashion Police
Green With Envy?Not quite, but we do give Kristen props for this shot of color during her New Moon press tour
More Photos
Latest Movie Reviews
Get Your E! News Now
8 Comments
-
Show the next 1 - 0 of 8 comments
Now loading...