A 42-year-old pornographic actor known as "Mr. Marcus" has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for knowingly exposing two of his co-stars to syphilis. According to NBC News, the performer, whose real name is Jesse Spencer, tampered with doctors' reports in order to proceed with filming.
The sentencing is the latest chapter in a scandal that halted production in the adult film industry last year and may have contributed to the success of a 2012 voter referendum requiring male pornographic performers to wear condoms on set.
Spencer pleaded no contest in Los Angeles County Superior Court Tuesday to charges of knowingly exposing another to a communicable disease. In addition to 30 days behind bars, he was sentenced to 36 months' probation and 15 days of community labor.
According to the City of Los Angeles, Spencer tested positive for syphilis and received a penicillin shot on July 13, 2012. He tested positive again eight days later, but altered a photocopy of the original test form.
By current industry standards, pornographic performers are required to undergo medical testing and disclose the results before filming begins. Spencer worked on two videos in late July. Two of his co-stars noticed the alterations on his medical forms and contacted police.
Both women tested negative for syphilis. One woman, Heather DeAngelo -- who has appeared in videos under the name Lylith LaVey -- has sued Spencer for intentional infliction of emotional distress. That case is proceeding in Van Nuys Superior Court.
Spencer insists that his physician informed him that he was not contagious. Otherwise, he said in an interview with a trade publication in May, he would never have gone forward with filming.
"I have to live with this. No one else does," he said to the magazine. "I'm sorry. I'm very sorry."
In the video below, Jesse Spencer talks about his diagnosis and the film industry shutdown in a 2012 interview:
