In a rare move aimed at protecting public health, a Seattle court has threatened a man with jail time if he does not comply with court orders meant to prevent him from spreading HIV to his sexual partners.

The man has only been identified by the letters AO has been served a cease-and-desist order by public health officials. The order was issued because it is suspected that the man has infected no less than eight people with the virus since 2008, when he was informed of his own positive status.

According to health officials, the move was not meant to criminalize or marginalize sexual behavior in any way. Nor is the order meant to infringe upon the man’s personal freedoms. Rather, the order is a means to protect the public from exposure to the virus.

Hilary Karasz, spokesperson for the King County Health Department, said in a statement, “All of our work related to the case in question has been designed to ensure that an HIV infected person receives needed medical care and adopts behaviors that protect both him and his sex partners.”

As part of the order, the man must attend a counseling program that will, in part, help him adopt safer sexual practices to avoid transmission of the virus to future partners. Failure to comply with the counseling could result in a contempt of court charge that could land him in jail.

There is only one other instance in which this court system has issued a cease-and-desist order of this nature and that was back in 1993