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 PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) - "Girls Gone Wild" video empire founder Joe Francis pleaded no contest to child abuse and prostitution charges Wednesday under an agreement allowing him to go free after nearly a year in jail.
Francis, 34, returned to Florida after posting a $1.5 million bond this week in Nevada, where he is awaiting trial for tax fraud. The hearing in Bay County state court resolved his 2003 criminal case involving the filming of underaged girls during spring break on Panama City Beach.
"I have never committed any crime. I pleaded guilty just to get out of jail," a defiant Francis said after the Bay County state court hearing. "A few corrupt individuals were able to keep an innocent man in jail for 11 months."
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