Joshua Weaver, 23, was put on probation in August for violating a little-used provision of the state public health code.

Weaver, a disc jockey, had been ordered to refrain from sex without a condom and steer clear of nightclubs unless he was hired to spin. Prosecutors said then that they hoped probation would be a wake-up call to Weaver.

This month, Wake County health department staff members contacted Weaver's probation officer to say they believed he had engaged in unprotected sex, said Keith Acree, spokesman for the state Department of Correction, which oversees probation officers. Acree said a Wake County public health official had proof and was willing to testify about the violation.

If a judge agrees, Weaver could be sentenced to 40 days in jail. He is in the Wake County jail awaiting a hearing Tuesday on the probation violation.

Weaver's attorney did not return a call for comment.

The state's public health code gives public health officials the right to tell patients infected with communicable diseases how to behave in the privacy of their bedrooms.

Catching those who break the rules is tough. Public health officials say, though, they have a few ways to help figure it out. If the HIV patient comes to the clinic with a different sexually transmitted disease, chances are he was having unprotected sex. And, if doctors diagnose a new patient with HIV who reports his only sexual partner was an existing patient, it's another clue, health officials say.

This summer, Weaver became the second Wake County person in about 15 years to face criminal charges for not taking steps to keep from spreading a communicable disease. Weaver didn't heed the county's orders to alert sexual partners that he carries HIV or protect them by wearing a condom during sex, according to court records. In August, he agreed to a plea deal that spared him prison but put him under the close watch of a probation officer trained to track sex offenders.

Across the state last year, health officials convicted 16 people of violating public health law. Most were infected with tuberculosis, and a trip to jail or a hospital guaranteed they would receive a treatment that would cure them.