The porn star known as "Mr. Marcus" will be jailed for 30 days for knowingly exposing at least two co-stars to syphilis. The porn star was sentenced in an LA court after co-stars believed Mr. Marcus was aware he was spreading syphilis.

The jailed porn star is accused of altering the results of his syphilis tests. Thankfully, the women accusing the porn star, Mr. Marcus, of knowingly having sex with syphilis, have not contracted the disease.

Mr. Marcus received a penicillin shot after testing positive for syphilis during a routine industry screening before the porn star was to make a film. Following a second screening July 21, prosecutors said Mr. Marcus continued to test positive for syphilis and altered the original form by obscuring the result on a photocopy.

"The potential spread of syphilis and other communicable diseases is a serious threat to our entire community," said City Attorney Carmen Trutanic. "My office will continue to hold accountable those who place the health and welfare of others in danger in such a reckless and thoughtless manner."

Prosecutors said the 42-year-old porn star must also serve 15 days of community service and three years of probation. Mr. Marcus has been in police custody since May 22 following a separate DUI arrest.

Heather DeAngelo, who acted in porn videos under the name Lylith LaVey, has sued the prn star for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Her syphilis case is in the discovery phase in Van Nuys Superior Court.

Mr. Marcus apologized for having altered the test and said he went ahead with the two videos because his doctor had told him he wasn't contagious. 

"I have to live with this. No one else does," the porn star said. "I'm sorry. I'm very sorry."

The syphilis case has put the porn industry in limbo. 

Most porn producers suspended production for about a month so their actors could get tested beginning in August after Spencer's case and the case of a second infected man who appeared in gay-themed adult films became public.

The positive tests were recorded before Los Angeles voters approved a referendum measure in November requiring male actors to wear condoms in adult films. 

The new law mandates that porn performers use condoms on set, plus it requires porn producers to apply for permits from the L.A. County Department of Public Health to shoot sex scenes. These seem like somewhat fair demands - the proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV is dangerous and can be deadly. So with the best of intentions, voters mandated that the porn industry have safer sex; but the industry wants nothing to do with that. (Safe sex porn videos apparently don't sell very well - or perhaps there isn't enough material to test the market.) This business may just move to where it is welcome.

While Vivid Entertainment, one of the biggest producers in the industry, contests the law in U.S. District Court, other producers are making their way into Ventura County, and local leaders are discussing options to keep the industry at bay, at least for now.

There are several situations that could develop. One is that the industry may eventually conform and porn actors will use condoms and legislators will most likely try to find another way to shut them down. Another, Vivid Entertainment will win its case and porn actors will continue with business as usual and engage in high-risk behavior despite the industry's self-imposed safeguards, such as blood tests, which don't seem to work so well. Or perhaps producers and porn actors will opt for safer sex and wear condoms so that their industry isn't so tainted by the proliferation of STDs. Of course, there's always the option of the creation of an underground black market for condom-free porn that could have even more dire consequences than what is already happening in the adult industry.

Whatever the case may be and whatever other scenario may play out for the industry, it's time to face the facts - the industry isn't going anywhere, though we may delay its growth temporarily. We hope that eventually the industry and legislators will find a compromise that promotes a safe and healthy environment for the actors as well as the neighborhoods these movies are filmed in. While condoms may be a bit much to ask for, forcing the industry underground without any regulatory standards may not be the direction this tumultuous ship should go. _