"Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis was sentenced Tuesday to 270 days in jail and three years probation for assaulting a woman at his Los Angeles mansion in 2011, according to CBS News.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Nancy L. Newman also ordered the 40-year-old, who reportedly choked a woman and repeatedly slammed her head to the ground, to complete an anger management course. Francis must attend 52 sessions of psychological counseling, according to Deputy City Attorney Mitchell Fox.
"Mr. Francis is really a danger to the community," Fox said, according to CBS Los Angeles. "He's had his way with ability to force people to comply with his wishes, he physically has been violent with people."
According to Fox, Francis met three women on January 29, 2011, at a college graduation party at the Supper Club in Hollywood. He reportedly grabbed the arm of one of the girls and took her to his limo as the other two followed. After initially believing they'd be taken to their car, the three women ended up in the gated community of Francis' Bel Air home.
Francis was interested in one of the women, but was not able to seperate her from her friends. Things escalated quickly when, according to Fox, Francis then "jumped on the friend, took her to the ground, choked her, slammed her head against the ground, dragged her across the ground, and when she got back up, did it several more times."
As one woman attempted to call the police, Francis proceed to yell at the woman and tell them they were trespassing and had to leave. Francis told the women he "owns the police" and that officers wouldn't arrest him, Fox told reporters.
Francis was convicted in May, with five misdemeanor charges, which included three counts of false imprisonment, one count of assault by means likely to cause great bodily injury, and one count of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime.
Francis' attorney Steve Levine said key details of the case were proven to be false in court, and is appealing the decision.
"Joe has always maintained his innocence," Levine said, according to CBS News. "I'm confident the legal system will course-correct and I am 100 percent innocent. There's no way I ever forced anyone to get into this car."
Judge Newman denied Francis' request for a new trial Tuesday, but sentenced him to less than the four years in county jail urged by prosecutors.
According to CBS News, Francis would be released from custody soon after posting a $250,000 bond Tuesday. Francis, who built a porn empire producing and marketing videos of young women exposing themselves on camera, later apologized for his comments.
"This is one of those cases where being a celebrity did not help him at all," Levine said.
This is not the first time Francis has faced legal trouble.
Last year, a jury found Francis guilty of defaming casino mogul Steve Wynn on multiple occasions, including on a national ABC morning show. Francis claimed the creator of some of Las Vegas' most upscale resorts threatened to kill him over a gambling debt.
