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March 7, 2003
PANAMA CITY BEACH -- If girls go wild, they'll also go to jail, and so will those who take videos of them baring it all, the mayor says.
Creators of the Girls Gone Wild video series are planning a live, pay-per-view broadcast from an undisclosed spring break destination next Thursday. It may be Panama City Beach; police here have been on the alert since the recent arrival of the Girls Gone Wild production crew and tour bus.
"I hope, and have asked, that those people who unchain (the girls) and ask them to go wild make that trip (to jail), too," Mayor Lee Sullivan said.
Police Maj. David Humphreys said arrests could be made for public nudity, lewd and lascivious acts, and disorderly conduct. Anyone who solicits someone to violate the law also is subject to arrest, he said.
Humphreys said several Panama City Beach nightclubs were asked to host the live broadcast but declined. Bay County sheriff's Capt. Jerry Metz said his officers also are prepared to make arrests if the broadcast is held outside city limits.
"We know where they are and we know where they are staying," Humphreys said.
The video series, created by entrepreneur Joe Francis, has made millions by filming college-age women revealing their breasts at parties, including Mardi Gras and spring break sites.
Francis responded in a written statement that although he respects Sullivan, Girls Gone Wild is within its rights to operate in his city.
"All we are doing is chronicling their spring break experience," Francis said. "Girls Gone Wild is not partaking in any illegal activity."