LOS ANGELES — Immoral Productions has been cleared of any alleged violations of L.A. County's mandatory condom ordinance, CEO Dan Leal told XBIZ Tuesday.
Immoral, which shoots regular live-cam shows which later are released on DVD, was the first adult studio in L.A. County to be targeted under Measure B, which passed in November making condom use mandatory on porn sets.
"They found no wrong-doing whatsoever and they dismissed all charges," Leal said.
Leal's attorney Michael Fattorosi added, “The case was fully investigated and he's been vindicated."
The studio had come under scrutiny by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the sponsor of Measure B which claimed it received an anonymous letter alleging that Immoral Productions was producing condom-less porn movies. As a result, the AHF filed the first complaint under the new law to the County of L.A. Department of Public Health, the group said in March.
“Immoral Productions is producing adult-themed content wherein the actors are engaging in vaginal and anal penetrative acts without the use of condoms,” the AHF had alleged in a letter to the county’s Public Health director, Jonathan Fielding.
Leal said that AHF has since removed the press release announcing the complaint from its website.
"We were notifed last month that there is no wrong-doing," Leal noted, adding that he had been so busy running his company that he had not been able to make the results of his defense public until this week.
On the heels of filing the complaint, the AHF also held a press conference to talk about the action against Immoral. Leal said that he and Fattorosi on Tuesday sent a letter to the AHF demanding a public retraction of the statements made in their press release dated March 19, 2013. At post time, the AHF had yet to respond to the letter.
Leal said that from his experience in dealing with law enforcement and county officials that all parties have been cooperative and open to working with his company on compliance.
“The way the County is interpreting the law and enforcing it, it’s livable,” Leal said. “Go out and get your Film LA permit, it’s roughly $800. Get your County Health permit, it should be under $2000 a year, and use condoms for anal and vaginal sex. My sales haven’t taken a dip, my sales are increasing.”
Leal explained that he, like many others, was misinformed until he began learning how Measure B would be enforced.
“This is not the end of the industry, the sky hasn’t fallen. The County wants to work with us. Everyone want us to stay in Los Angeles,” Leal continued. “Even the guys from LAPD who come in [to our studio in Chatsworth] every two months are extremely nice and cooperative, very professional.”
Leal said that from his experience it is not the intention of LAPD, L.A. County or CalOSHA to run the porn industry out of LA.
“Because of me being high-profile, from the TV show to other things I do, I’ve been targeted and I accept that," he said. "I used to begrudgingly comply. But the ways to comply are way easier than I thought. I’m not leaving LA. I’m complying with the law and I don’t think there’s any reason for any studio in Los Angeles to leave.”
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