Girls Gone Wild ruling delayed

Circuit Judge Dedee Costello was ready to rule Wednesday on a motion to dismiss the remaining 2003 felony charges against ÒGirls Gone WildÓ founder Joe Francis.

Instead, she delayed her ruling for at least a week to allow the defense to respond in writing to another state argument to the motion, filed an hour before a hearing on the issue.

Francis, 34, is charged with two counts of both using and conspiring to use minors in a sexual performance. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted as charged.

The charges stem from a ÒGirls Gone WildÓ cameraman filming two 17-year-old girls performing sex acts with each other in a Panama City Beach motel shower during Spring Break 2003. Francis was in the motel room, but says he didnÕt meet the girls, who lied about their ages to the cameraman, until after the filming.