Francis pleads guilty in federal 'Girls Gone Wild' case; will pay $2.1M in fines.(Field Reports)(cases on violating federal child sexual exploitation )

Response, October, 2006 by Haire, Thomas

LOS ANGELES and PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- "Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis and his company, Mantra Films Inc., reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department in separate cases in California and Florida that resulted in a series of guilty pleas on Sept. 12 to charges of violating federal child sexual exploitation laws and federal record-keeping and labeling laws for sexually explicit materials. As part of the plea deal, Francis and Mantra will pay $2.1 million in fines.

In the Los Angeles case, Francis will directly pay $500,000 in fines for failing to document the ages and identification of women featured in the racy but wildly popular "Girls Gone Wild" video series. In a statement, Francis admitted that footage of minors involved in sexual activities...

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