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Girls Gone Wild Founder Taken Into Custody

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Apr 10, 2007 2:48 pm US/Eastern

Girls Gone Wild Founder Taken Into Custody

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PENSACOLA (CBS4) ― The founder of the "Girls Gone Wild" video empire is in federal custody in Bay County.

A sheriff's office spokeswoman says Joe Francis was taken into custody by federal marshals on Tuesday morning and booked into the county jail. He faces a contempt of court citation after initially defying a federal judge.

A spokesman for Francis says his lawyers, "continue to work toward a settlement."

Francis makes almost $30-million dollars a year from videos of young women baring their breasts and in other sexually provocative situations.

He drew the contempt citation during negotiations in a civil lawsuit brought by seven women. They were underage when they were filmed by his company on Panama City Beach during spring break in 2003.

Francis has said he would settle the case to avoid jail time.

An appeals court refused to let him remain free pending an appeal.

(© 2007 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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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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