WASHINGTON – A Virginia man, who admitted he had unprotected sex with two Maryland woman without telling them he was HIV positive, was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday.

The sentence was the maximum allowed under a plea agreement Daniel Cleaves, 28 of Richmond, struck with Montgomery County prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment earlier this month.

Dressed in a dark green jumpsuit, Cleaves cried several times in court and told Judge Joseph Quirk how sorry he was.

He had sex with the women on separate occasions after meeting them at a bar in Bethesda last year.

“We just want to make sure that he’s held accountable and that the community knows that this kind of behavior is not tolerated,” says Ramon Korionoff with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office. “Eighteen months is a significant amount of time to really think about what he has done.”

One of the victims spoke in court, saying the ordeal has altered her life forever and has filled her with anxiety and anguish.

Cleave’s defense attorney Andrew Jezic tells The Associated Press that his client was on a drug that made his chances of transmitting the virus through intercourse “next to zero.”

The women involved in the case haven’t tested positive for HIV, according to The Associated Press.

Cleaves has already spent three months in jail since his arrest last fall.

WTOP’s Nick Iannelli reported from Rockville. The Associated Press contributed to this report.