LOS ANGELES — Porn actor Mr. Marcus was sentenced to jail for knowingly exposing at least two co-stars to syphilis after testing positive for the disease and subsequently filming adult scenes, the Los Angeles City Attorney's office said.
Mr. Marcus was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 15 days of community service and three years of probation by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Catherine Ewell.
"The potential spread of syphilis and other communicable diseases is a serious threat to our entire community," City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said. "My office will continue to hold accountable those whp place the health and welfare of others in danger in such a reckless and thoughtless manner."
On July 13, 2012, Mr. Marcus received a penicillin shot after testing positive for syphilis. Following a second screening on July 21, he again tested positive for syphilis. Mr. Marcus then obscured the presence of syphilis on a photocopy of his test results.
On July 24 and July 26, Mr. Marcus participated in two adult movie shoots, despite testing positve for syphilis.
Twelve days ago, Mr. Marcus was also arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and was held for $200,000 bail.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Mr. Marcus defended his misdemeanor charge by saying that he received a penicillin shot following his diagnosis with syphilis. He believed that he had been free of the disease prior to shooting several porn scenes.
"Spencer ended up being the political football with the City Attorney's Office and the adult film industry with regard to Measure B," said Martin Cutler, Mr. Marcus' attorney.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy City Attorney Diego Edber.
