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'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Pleads No Contest

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Mar 12, 2008 4:00 pm US/Eastern

'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Pleads No Contest

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (CBS) ― The founder of "Girls Gone Wild" has pleaded no contest to child abuse and prostitution charges in a Panama City courtroom, CBS station WFOR-TV in Miami reports.

Joe Francis entered the pleas Wednesday to the charges stemming from a five-year old case involving the filming of underage girls.

His lawyers contend the girls lied about their ages to an independent camera operator, and that none of the footage was used.

Judge Deede Costello eventually sentenced Francis to 339 days in jail, but gave him credit for the last year he has spent in jail in Bay County and in Reno, Nevada.

Francis has been jailed on both sides of the country for nearly a year.

He was jailed in Nevada on federal tax evasion charges. The government alleges Francis and his companies, Mantra Films Inc. and Sands Media Inc., claimed more than $20 million in phony deductions in 2002 and 2003 and that Francis used offshore accounts to conceal income.

Wednesday's ruling resolves the Florida criminal cases and allows Francis to remain out of jail on bond pending a federal tax evasion trial in Nevada.

That trial is set for August. If convicted, Francis could face up to 10 years in prison and $500,000 in fines.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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