Jason Campbell, at right, during a court appearance in Paterson in April, when he pleaded guilty to child neglect and arson charges were dismissed. (Fausto Giovanny Pinto | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

PATERSON -- Former Morris County Sheriff's Officer Jason Campbell, who once faced charges of arson and official misconduct, was sentenced Thursday to jail time already served following his guilty plea only to a fourth-degree charge of child neglect, according to his attorney.

The arson and official misconduct charges were dismissed as part of a long and winding case that involved three separate incidents and that began in Morris County, was transferred to Sussex and wound up in Passaic County.

Campbell, 36, of Parsippany, who had also served as acting fire chief in Parsippany, was held in jail awaiting trial for "approximately" 18 months before he posted bail, said his attorney, Jeffrey Patti.

"Mr. Campbell is happy to close this chapter of his life," Patti commented in an email.

Campbell was not required to forfeit public employment as part of the plea deal and he was not barred from working in law enforcement or as a firefighter in the future, Patti said. But Campbell has not yet determined his next step, according to Patti.

"His future plans are to pick up the pieces and put his life back together," Patti added.

In April, a judge in Paterson dismissed the arson charges after they were dropped by the Morris County prosecutor as part of the final plea bargain in which Campbell admitted the child neglect charge.

Campbell's guilty plea to child neglect came in connection with a December 2012 incident when he was found intoxicated in a car in Parisppany with his 6-month-old nephew. His wife, Jennifer, had gone inside a supermarket while he waited in the car with the child.

Campbell was originally charged with child endangerment in that case, but the charge was reduced.

The case began back in February 2011, when the Morris prosecutor's office announced the arson charges. Campbell was accused of setting two fires while working as a firefighter in Parsippany in 2008 and 2010 and while supervising a youth in the Explorer program, charges that wound up being dismissed five years later.

Then, in March 2012, Campbell was arrested during a traffic stop on Route 287 in Parsippany. He was charged with official misconduct for allegedly flashing his badge to avoid an arrest, and was also charged with possession of oxycodone and driving under the influence of drugs.

In December, a judge in Paterson dismissed all those charges, ruling that it was "an illegal traffic stop" and the charges could not be pursued. Judge Raymond Reddin agreed with Patti's position that the stop by a state trooper was designed to "entrap" the officer into showing his badge when he asked him to produce an ID.

Campbell has since filed a notice of tort claim against the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, the Morris County Sheriff's Office and the New Jersey State Police for the "entrapment/unlawful traffic stop and unlawful arrest" stemming from the March 2012 incident. The notice of tort is required prior to filing a lawsuit against a public agency in New Jersey.

Ironically, in June 2013, Campbell had accepted a plea bargain that tied all three cases together, but that was rejected by a judge.

At that time, Campbell agreed to plea guilty to official misconduct and possession of oxycodone, and the arson and child endangerment charges would have been dropped.

However, the late Judge Edward Gannon, who was then hearing the case in Sussex County, rejected the plea bargain because it allowed Campbell the option of applying for admission into the state's Drug Court program, something Gannon said was not legally allowed under the charges Campbell would have admitted.

Gannon said accepting the deal would have compromised his "judicial integrity."

Gannon was then removed from the case and it was transferred to Passaic County.

The case had been moved to Sussex to avoid a conflict of interest in Morris because Campbell worked for the sheriff's office there.

Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.