Joe Francis, 40, was sentenced to eight months in jail, 26 months of probation, a year of anger management classes, and psychological counseling. In May, a jury convicted Francis of three misdemeanor counts of wrongful imprisonment, assault, and dissuading a witness from testifying. In the three months between his verdict and sentencing, Francis made his feelings about the jury who convicted him known in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
"I want that jury to know that each and every one of you are mentally f--ing retarded and you should be euthanized because, as Darwin said, you have naturally selected yourself."
Francis' statements, which he later apologized for, were submitted as evidence in today's sentencing hearing by prosecutor Mitch Fox. "These are the words of a violent man who has shown no remorse," Fox told the judge.
The charges against Francis stem from an incident in 2011. Three female friends had attended a graduation party at the Los Angeles night club The Supper Club. None of the women knew Francis or knew that he would be there. Francis met one of the women and invited her back to his mansion in Bel-Air for an after-party. Before she could agree or alert her friends to what was happening, the woman testified that Francis "aggressively" pulled her inside of his limo. Her two friends followed, expecting to get a ride back to their car.
None of the women were taken back to their cars. Instead they arrived at Francis' gated home. The women tried to call their own cab or boyfriends but, according to testimony, did not have cell service. When Francis tried to separate one of the women from her friends, a physical altercation broke out and Francis grabbed one of the woman's friends by her hair and throat then slammed her to the ground. She testified that Francis slammed her head into the floor four times. The woman's medical records were later submitted into evidence and they showed minor head injuries.
According to testimony, when the women threatened to call the police, Francis taunted, "Go ahead and call the police! I own the police! At this point, Francis asked his driver to remove the women by calling them a taxi. When the taxi arrived, Francis was overly friendly with the taxi driver, according to testimony. Francis offered the stranger his estate in Mexico as a vacation destination whenever he wanted, thus, prosecutors charged, Francis was dissuading a witness from testifying.
When the women were dropped off at their cars, they immediately called 911. "It was the scariest night of my life," one of the victims testified.
Francis was taken into custody immediately following today's hearing, but is expected to be freed on $250,000 bond pending an appeal.