A photo of an Oregon sheriff without pants on, thrusting his pelvis toward the camera, with his genitals covered in a sticker that reads "Lit Saturday," was shared to a page that mimicked the sheriff's Facebook page, according to The News-Review.

Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin told the paper the pants-less photo of him that appeared online was likely posted by an ex-girlfriend and that he did not "authorize the photo that was posted."

In a statement to The News-Review, Hanlin said, "I am facing an unusual personal circumstance."

"Recently, my girlfriend and I ended our relationship," he continued. "After the fact, it was brought to my attention that a private photo of me was posted on a Facebook site intended to appear as if the Facebook site was mine."

Hanlin said that he contacted Facebook and had the photo removed.

"I am working to understand how and why this happened and to resolve the issue," he said, "but in the meantime, this is a very private, personal matter and I intend to deal with it in a private manner."

"I apologize for this distraction," he added.

Hanlin gained national attention in the wake of the October 2015 shooting at Umpqua Community College that left 10 people dead, when it was reported that he had once posted about a Sandy Hook conspiracy theory on his Facebook page.

The post, a video, suggested that the tragedy that killed 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut may have been staged by the government to justify "disarming the public." It also said the parents of the dead children were "crisis actors."

"This makes me wonder who we can trust anymore," Hanlin wrote in the post. "Watch, listen, and keep an open mind.

Hanlin later said he did not believe that conspiracy theory.

Hanlin has also been very outspoken about gun rights. Also in 2013, he posted a letter he said he sent to then-Vice President Joe Biden, which read, "Gun control is NOT the answer to preventing heinous crimes like school shooting."

In 2017, Hanlin supported Senate Bill 508, which "Provides that images of dead bodies that are part of law enforcement agency investigation are exempt from disclosure as public record if disclosure would create unreasonable invasion of privacy of family of deceased person."

The law created by that bill went into effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker