Joe Francis Pleads Not Guilty To Sexual Battery

(CBS) HOLLYWOOD, Calif. The man behind the "Girls Gone Wild" videos pleaded not guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor sexual battery involving an 18-year-old woman at a birthday party in Hollywood -- a charge his attorney called "ridiculous."

Joe Francis is accused of repeatedly touching the breast, buttocks and inner thigh of the woman who had asked him not to touch her at a Jan. 10 party, according to Frank Mateljan of the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

Attorney Aaron Dyer entered the plea on behalf of Francis, who is in federal custody.

If convicted, Francis faces up to six months in jail and a $2,000 fine.

At the time of the hearing, he was in custody of federal marshals en route from from Oklahoma to Reno, Nev., where he is scheduled to be arraigned on tax evasion charges.

After the arraignment in Los Angeles, Dyer issued a statement, calling the charge "ridiculous." He said Francis' high profile made him a target for "baseless attacks."

Dyer said he believed the court or the City Attorney's Office, which filed the charges, would be persuaded to dismiss the case against Francis.

"The allegations made by the alleged victim, claiming she was 'touched,' are ridiculous. There is absolutely no merit to these charges. Mr. Francis is a successful man in a high profile position and, unfortunately, that makes him a target of people who hope to benefit in some way from attacking him. Mr. Francis isn't going to sit by and put up with these types of baseless attacks. He will vigorously defense himself and take whatever action necessary to clear his name."

The City Attorney's Office declined comment.

The charge is the latest in a series of legal troubles for Francis, who was sentenced last month to 35 days in jail in Florida for contempt of court in a civil case. He was indicted last month in Nevada for tax evasion.

In January, U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow in Los Angeles fined Francis $200,000 and ordered him to do 200 hours of community service for violating record-keeping requirements designed to prevent exploitation of minors.