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Los Angeles — California regulators on Wednesday cited a movie company owned by porn star James Deen for failing to use condoms on a film shoot, potentially exposing actors to hepatitis B and HIV.
The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued nine citations, including four for violations that offered a possibility of serious harm or death, according to an agency statement. It proposed fining Los Angeles-based Third Rock Enterprises Inc. nearly $78 000.
Messages left for Deen, whose real name is Bryan Sevilla, weren't immediately returned.
Deen, 30, arguably is the biggest star in a profession that, until he burst upon the scene 10 years ago, saw its only marquee names belonging to women such as Jenna Jameson and Tori Black. He has also been one of the industry's most outspoken and articulate opponents of condoms in porn films.
Last December, Cal/OSHA began investigating Deen and his company after allegations that the star of thousands of hard-core films sexually assaulted eight porn actresses, including his former girlfriend, on and off movie sets.
Deen has vigorously denied the allegations, and none of the Cal/OSHA violations involve those allegations.
Instead, the agency said investigators visited a film shoot in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles on Jan. 12. They found that the producers violated a California law requiring some kind of barrier to protect employees from blood-borne pathogens such as HIV, the agency said.
"Additionally, producers did not provide a vaccine or follow-up medical examination to employees who were potentially exposed to hepatitis B" and refused to turn over safety records, the Cal/OSHA statement said.
In Los Angeles County, a voter-approved law requires adult film actors to use condoms during film shoots. But many producers have fought the concept, arguing that actors already undergo health screening and audiences are turned off by condoms.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which strongly backed the local condom law and filed the initial complaints that led to the Cal/OSHA investigation of Deen's company, applauded the citations.
Deen "is the most vocal critic and prominent public face of the industry in its opposition to condom use," foundation President Michael Weinstein said in a statement.
