Bizarre 'Girls Gone Wild' Kidnap Case in Court

By Andrew Blankstein, Times Staff Writer

A man charged with kidnapping "Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis and forcing him to make a semi-nude video was in court today after a tip from celebrity Paris Hilton led to the suspect's arrest.

Darnell Riley appeared in Los Angeles County superior Court this morning in a blue suit, and a striped tie. He is charged with multiple counts of kidnapping, robbery, and burglary in the incident last year.

Joe Francis, 32, is the colorful, controversial, millionaire founder of the film series in which young women bare their breasts for the camera. Riley, who has denied guilt, allegedly robbed Francis and then kidnapped him from his Beverly Hills mansion last night in a stolen Bentley.

Riley held Francis at gunpoint, forced him to disrobe and filmed him partially naked, according to the charges.

Hilton, Francis' former girlfriend, reportedly heard a partygoer bragging that he knew the man who had robbed Francis. The tip lead to a police search of Riley's home, where police say they seized a copy of the Francis videotape.

On Jan. 22, 2004, Riley allegedly broke into Francis' contemporary mansion in Bel-Air. Brandishing a pistol, Riley ordered Francis to lie on the floor, tied his hands behind his back and relieved him of $1,500 in cash, his cellphone and an $8,000 Rolex watch, according to the police report. For the next few hours, the burglar repeatedly threatened to kill Francis while demanding money, the report says.

The intruder forced Francis to lie on his bed with his pants down, then switched on a video camera and is heard on the tape saying, "I'm going to put this on the Internet and make money." The video lasts only a few minutes, long enough for Francis to identify himself and mumble that he enjoys anal sex. He made the statement, the police report details, fearing for his life. Police say no sexual assault occurred.

Hands still bound and mouth covered with duct tape, Francis was forced into his Bentley but freed himself after the car was abandoned near Sunset Boulevard.

For the next four days, the gunman called Francis many times, demanding that he be paid from $300,000 to $500,000 in exchange for the video.