HOLLYWOOD - Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis has been charged with sexual battery, just two days after he was sentenced to 35 days in jail for contempt of court.
The 34-year-old picked up the misdemeanor charge yesterday. It relates to a January incident at a birthday party in Hollywood, where Francis allegedly touched an 18-year-old woman's breast, buttocks and inner thigh at least 10 times, despite being asked repeatedly to stop.
Francis faces six months in jail and a $2,000 fine if found guilty. His arraignment is set for May 22.
However, Francis has a court appearance booked in Nevada on the same day, after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with deducting more than $20 million in false business expenses on his companies' 2002 and 2003 corporate income tax returns last month. According to the indictment, Francis used offshore bank accounts and entities purportedly owned by others to conceal income he earned during 2002 and 2003.
If convicted, Francis faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000.
On Monday, a judge in Panama City, Florida, sentenced him to 35 days in jail for shouting abuse at seven women during recent settlement talks.
The women had taken legal action against Francis for allegedly filming them in sexual situations while underage at Panama City Beach in 2003.
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