LA sex charge against `Girls Gone Wild' founder is dropped
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In this April 22, 2008, file photo, 'Girls Gone Wild' founder Joe Francis poses on the press line at the Girls Gone Wild Magazine launch at Area nightclub in West Hollywood, Calif. A Los Angeles judge has dismissed a sexual battery charge against Francis because prosecutors said they were unable to contact his accuser. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, File)
(AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, File)
In this April 22, 2008, file photo, "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis poses on the press line at the Girls Gone Wild Magazine launch at Area nightclub in West Hollywood, Calif. A Los Angeles judge has dismissed a sexual battery charge against Francis because prosecutors said they were unable to contact his accuser.

LOS ANGELES (Map, News) - A Los Angeles judge has dismissed a sexual battery charge against "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis because prosecutors said they were unable to contact his accuser.

The judge dismissed the misdemeanor count Thursday after city prosecutors said they were unable to proceed because they had not seen or heard from the 18-year-old woman or an alleged witness.

Francis was accused of groping the woman's breasts and buttocks at a birthday party in Hollywood last year. The millionaire founder of the sex video empire could have faced up to six months in jail.

Defense attorney Mark Werksman says Francis never touched the girl and that the case was based on lies and exaggerations.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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