from www.foxcharlotte.com – Jan (Meza) Merritt, a former porn actress, now works to get people out of the industry. She spoke at a press conference Thursday in Los Angeles with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), an AIDS advocacy group, and The Pink Cross, a group that helps people exit the porn industry, to call for condom use in adult films.

According to The Associated Press Meza said she asked about the use of condoms when she first started appearing in adult films in 2006. “I was told that I would never get work again,” said Meza, who later contracted herpes.

In a statement Meza described her experience in the porn industry . “It breaks my heart to acknowledge that during my time as a porn star, I’ve done a scene with 25 men and even though I was assured that all of the STD testing had been taken care of by the producers, in my heart I realize now that this was probably a lie because I never saw the tests for myself.”

On Meza’s MySpace page she writes about her experiences, her work helping people, and her current life as a wife and mother. New photos of her show that she is trying to establish a new career as a model. And on her Twitter site, @January_79 , the bio states “Yeah I was her, but I’ve always been me.”

Since quitting the porn business, Meza has worked with The Pink Cross , a charity group that provides help and a haven for people who want to leave the industry. The faith-based organization was established by Shelley Lubben, a former porn actress and prostitute.

“I played a crazy game of Russian roulette with my life. The industry did not and still does not enforce condom usage, so STDs and HIV were and still are a high risk among porn actors and actresses,” said Lubben.

On Thursday the AHF filed complaints with state officials against 16 production companies that show unprotected sex in their movies.