"Girls Gone Wild" Producer Arrested in Panama City

Panama City, FL – The Northern District of Florida’s U.S. Marshals Office in Panama City announces the arrest of Joe Francis, producer of the “Girls Gone Wild” videos. Francis was arrested 6:30 this morning on a federal warrant for Criminal Contempt of Court. Francis, 34, was arrested after stepping off of a privately chartered jet and was detained by the Panama City Bay County International Airport Police. The arrest was affected without incident according to the police.

Deputy U.S. Marshal P.J. Joanos said he had tried unsuccessfully yesterday to contact Francis’ lawyers, in order to coordinate his surrender. However, as of 4:30 p.m. Monday, Francis had failed to turn himself in at the federal courthouse in Panama City. The law allows a person to surrender to any law enforcement agency at any location, and that person will be held pending extradition to the district in which the warrant originated.

Francis, who lives in Los Angeles, is the producer of the program known for filming young women while vacationing or on Spring Break in various cities. He was sued in 2003 in a civil lawsuit by seven underage girls who claim they were victimized when “Girls Gone Wild” filmed them.

Francis was sought by the Marshals after U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak ordered the filmmaker to jail on Contempt of Court charges. Francis is now in the U.S. Marshals’ custody in Panama City.