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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
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More Trouble For "Girls Gone Wild" Gang
SCROOGED: "American Idol" producers get stingy with shutterbugs
OCTOBER 30--Already facing criminal charges for allegedly filming underage girls naked, "Girls Gone Wild" boss Joseph Francis and his cohorts have just been sued by the parents of six teenagers who claim they were sexually exploited during this year's spring break in Panama City, Florida. In a civil complaint filed October 8 in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, Francis & Co. are accused of the "child abuse" of a 15-year-old Alabama girl, a quartet of 17-year-old Florida girls, and a 16-year-old Alabama girl. Due to the ages of the plaintiffs involved, a judge has agreed to allow the girls to be identified only through anonymous names like "Plaintiff C" or "Plaintiff D." As alleged in the below lawsuit excerpts, Francis paid two teenagers to engage in sexual conduct in a motel shower and tried to pull up a 17-year-old's shirt in a bid to expose her breasts. His employees were charged with giving booze spiked with "drugs or additional stimulants" to a 16-year-old who was then "coerced" into engage in sexual conduct with a friend. The complaint also alleges that "Girls Gone Wild" representatives "cajoled, harassed, intimidated and persuaded" a 15-year-old girl to flash her breasts on camera. In each instance, the complaint contends, the girls involved told Francis and his employees that they were minors. Claiming that the girls have suffered "emotional distress" and "mental and physical harm," the lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $50,000. While Francis has repeatedly denied knowingly filming naked minors, he is attempting to capitalize on the Florida scandal. In ads for a Panama City video, Francis reports that, "Arrests were made, footage was confiscated, and all was lost, or so everyone thought. But just before the bust, we were able to make copies of some of the footage and now we bring you Girls Gone Wild, The Seized Video." (10 pages)
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