LOS ANGELES – Arraignment has been postponed for a man who faces charges of allegedly robbing the creator of the raunchy Girls Gone Wild videos and forcing him to partially disrobe for a demeaning video as part of an extortion attempt.
Darnell Riley, 28, has been charged with burglary, robbery, kidnapping for ransom, carjacking and attempted extortion in the Jan. 22, 2004 incident at the home of Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis.
Francis’ former girlfriend, socialite Paris Hilton, has been subpoenaed as a witness in the criminal case. Police learned of the alleged crime from Hilton who said she heard the incident discussed on the party circuit.
Riley’s arraignment was postponed until Jan. 19 to allow him more time to gather money for his defense, said lawyer Ronald Richards, who represented Riley during his preliminary hearing.
Riley has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He remains in custody with bail set at $1 million.
Francis testified during the preliminary hearing Riley broke into his home, pulled a gun on him and videotaped Riley on his bed with his pants down making sexually humiliating comments about himself. Riley threatened to distribute the video unless Francis paid him $300,000 to $500,000, Francis testified.
Francis has made millions with his Santa Monica, Calif.-based company that markets videos of young women exposing themselves at college campuses and events such as Mardi Gras in New Orleans and spring break at such popular resorts as Daytona Beach, Fla.; Miami’s South Beach and Cancun, Mexico.