What's Really Going On With Joe Francis' Claim That His Daughters Are Missing?
This article contains allegations of abuse.
For a large chunk of his adult life, "Girls Gone Wild" franchise creator Joe Francis has had a not-so-sunny relationship with the law — one mostly spent on the wrong side of it. At various times, Francis has been convicted of a number of heavyweight crimes, among them tax evasion, bribery, assault, and false imprisonment, and more, per the Los Angeles Times, and has also pled no contest to child abuse, per The Hollywood Reporter. But now, in a startling turn of events, it seems Francis is making his own serious accusations regarding child endangerment.
As TMZ first reported on December 29, Francis has purportedly filed legal documentation which claims his ex-partner, Abbey Wilson, has not only barred him from seeing the two young daughters they share together, but has in actuality kidnapped their children. But is this actually the case, or could there be another side to the story here?
Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis accused his ex of kidnapping their kids, she denies it
Per TMZ, Joe Francis has accused his ex, Abbey Wilson, of a litany of offenses — among them that Wilson has taken their two young daughters and is planning to abscond with them across the border to Mexico. Citing copies of the legal documents Francis filed against Wilson, TMZ reported that Francis did so after Christmas, the day Wilson was purportedly supposed to drop both children off with Francis for the holiday — which she didn't. Francis also accused Wilson of "family violence," per TMZ, but stated that authorities have not been able to get a hold of her because of a failure to list her current address.
However, despite Francis' allegations, Wilson, through her own attorney, has a much different story: namely, that she has been given temporary custody of both daughters. She also claimed that Francis has been verbally abusive and physically abusive towards her in the past, and has not fulfilled any financial responsibility towards the welfare of their children, per TMZ. As of the time of this writing, Wilson has not been arrested or charged with kidnapping.
In his own previous child abuse case, per The Hollywood Reporter, Francis was accused of filming two underage girls, aged 17, exposing themselves. Francis pleaded no contest and filed his own lawsuit against the teens' parents and a judge. He later settled the case and paid the alleged victims millions of dollars, according to the outlet.
If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.