Phil Spector Walks Free: Joe Francis Still Held Without Bail

Phil Spector Walks Free: Joe Francis Still Held Without Bail

Girls Gone Wild Founder Launches MeetJoeFrancis.com to Chronicle His Ongoing Legal Battle

NEW YORK, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- As Girls Gone Wild CEO Joe Francis sits in jail in the midst of one of the most unorthodox incarcerations in modern judicial history, a new Web site, www.meetjoefrancis.com, has been launched to tell his story. Joe Francis remains in custody without bail even though Phil Spector was freed on bond after being charged with second-degree murder -- and remains free today though he faces a second trial for the same charges. O.J. Simpson is free on bond despite being charged with 7 felonies including kidnapping and armed robbery. Yet Joe sits in jail.

The Web site was launched in response to a torrent of misinformation appearing on the Internet and in the mainstream press regarding Francis' personal life, his business, and his legal challenges.

A synopsis of Francis' legal situation appears below and can be found in detail on www.meetjoefrancis.com. The Web site actually features a photograph taken of Joe in jail as he signed a civil settlement under orders from a federal judge.

Legal Synopsis

Girls Gone Wild founder and CEO Joe Francis has been sitting in jail for the past six months, not because he's been convicted of a crime, but because he's been refused bail by a judge in a small Florida town that seems intent on making some sort of example of him.

The original charges against Francis involve a 2003 incident in Panama City, Florida in which cameramen not directly employed by "Girls Gone Wild" filmed sexual situations involving young women who lied about their ages on camera and in written releases in order to appear on "Girls Gone Wild." Joe Francis was not present and didn't even meet the women until after the filming. Yet Panama City authorities hit Francis with a staggering list of criminal charges.

They seized Francis' private jet and announced that cocaine had been found on the plane. This claim, as well as many others made in a Sheriff's Department press release, turned out to be a complete falsehood. A Florida judge declared that the Sheriff's Department also lied repeatedly in their warrants against Joe Francis and as a result, most of the criminal charges were dropped.

Why did the mayor of Panama City go on national television to make the outrageous claim that Joe Francis and "Girls Gone Wild" were essentially banned from Panama City?

Why did Panama City authorities go after Joe Francis with such reckless disregard for the truth?

Why did the judge issue a "Settle or Jail" ultimatum to Francis for failing to settle with women who lied about their ages to appear on "Girls Gone Wild?"

Why was the judge -- a former law partner of a lawyer representing the girls who lied about their ages -- not disqualified from the case?

Sound incredible? Read the full story and view all the supporting documents at www.meetjoefrancis.com and decide for yourself.

Across the country, criminal suspects accused of everything from petty theft to murder are routinely released on bond. Despite the fact that Joe Francis has been declared neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community, he has been behind bars awaiting trial without bail now for almost six months.

Joe's legal ordeal makes a gripping but deeply disturbing story. To read more, log on to www.meetjoefrancis.com.

Joe Francis

Joe Francis (born April 1, 1973), is best known as the founder and CEO of the Girls Gone Wild (GGW) lifestyle brand, which has become an American pop culture phenomenon. Francis graduated from the University of Southern California in 1995 with a degree in business, and founded Mantra Films, his global entertainment company, at age 24.

CONTACT: Kevin A. Mercuri 212-999-5585 kmercuri@5wpr.com

Source: Mantra Films

CONTACT: Kevin A. Mercuri, +1-212-999-5585, kmercuri@5wpr.com, for
Mantra Films

Web site: http://www.meetjoefrancis.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment