Thomas Guerra of San Diego faces a possible six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for not telling his partner that he is HIV positive, the Los Angeles Times reports. He pleaded no contest to the charge of not disclosing his status.

The Guerra case was the subject of the recent POZ feature story “Burden of Proof: Is Criminalizing HIV Ever a Good Idea?” In this article, “Bill,” an ex-boyfriend of Guerra’s, said that the two had sex without condoms after Guerra said he was HIV negative. Later, both men tested positive for the virus. Bill filed a complaint after discovering what he said are emails suggesting Guerra had known of his status for years.

According to the Times, Guerra was charged for violating a state health code that dictates “any person afflicted with any contagious, infectious, or communicable disease who willfully exposes himself or herself to another person” is guilty of a misdemeanor.

This is the only time the city has brought such charges in the two decades the statute has been on the books.

As the POZ feature story notes: “Compared with other states, which may penalize mere exposure to HIV or even lack of HIV-status disclosure during sex, regardless of any risk-reduction methods undertaken, California has a particularly narrow HIV-specific statute: The single felony charge applies only to those who intentionally infect others with the virus. This places a heavy burden of proof on prosecutors.”

Guerra will be sentenced April 13.