TORONTO — The man who created Girls Gone Wild has gone behind bars.
Joe Francis was taken into custody Tuesday morning in a Los Angeles courtroom after being sentenced to 270 days in jail for assaulting a woman at his home in 2011.
Francis, 40, faced up to five years in jail after being convicted in May of three counts of false imprisonment, one count of assault causing great bodily injury and one count of dissuading a witness.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter following the conviction, Francis said the jurors were “retarded” and should be “euthanized.” He later apologized for the comments.
In addition to 270 days behind bars, Francis was given 36 months of probation and ordered to complete an anger management course and a year of weekly psychological counselling.
Francis, who arrived at court Tuesday with his girlfriend, model Abbey Wilson, was accused by three women of taking them to his Hollywood mansion and refusing to let them leave. One woman said she was choked and had her head slammed against a tile floor.
Francis has had a history of legal troubles. He served 339 days in jail after pleading guilty to child abuse and prostitution charges in a case that involved the videotaping of underage girls in Florida in 2003 and, in 2009, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges.
Francis’ company, which produces the popular series of videos showing college-age women exposing their breasts, filed for bankruptcy in February.
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