CENTENNIAL — The judge had to decide whether former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan should be treated the same as everyone else or fall under more scrutiny as a law enforcement officer in his meth-for-sex case.

In the end, Arapahoe County Chief District Judge William Sylvester chose somewhere in between.

Sullivan, 69, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 days in jail, placed on two years of probation and fined $1,100 after pleading guilty to felony possession of methamphetamine and soliciting for prostitution, a misdemeanor.

Two other charges were dropped in the plea deal.

The disgraced former sheriff, once heralded as a hero, was immediately taken into custody and moved to the county jail that bears his name to serve out his sentence.

“I apologize to this court, this county and my family,” Sullivan said, reading from a statement before Sylvester announced his sentence. “There is no excuse for my behavior.”

He was arrested in late November after an undercover sting set up by a gay lover of his and another gay man, all of whom had previously smoked meth together. The friends turned confidential informants asked Sullivan to come to an Aurora home and have sex in exchange for meth.

Colorado Deputy Attorney General Michael Dougherty, a special prosecutor who took over the case from the Arapahoe district attorney and who was on a task force investigating the former sheriff, said that after Sullivan went to the home, the former sheriff threw the meth on a bed and started getting undressed.

He said it was something Sullivan had done “time and time and time” again. Sullivan was then arrested.

“When a member of law enforcement is arrested, this disgraces the badge,” Dougherty said in asking for jail or prison time.

Even more shocking was Dougherty’s statements that after his arrest, Sullivan was asked whether he had ever had sex with a minor. But he could not tell them yes or no because he was under the influence of meth during those encounters.

“He may very well have had sex with underage individuals,” Dougherty told the court.

Investigators also found images on Sullivan’s computer that were “suspicious” with regard to whether they depicted minors. In the end, they couldn’t be “classified” as minors, Dougherty said.

Defense attorney Kevin McGreevy asked for probation, noting that similar plea deals typically lead to that outcome if the defendant does not have a criminal record.

“In 99 out of 100 cases, a person who is not Pat Sullivan sitting in the same chair receives probation,” McGreevy said.

He said until his arrest, Sullivan was a respected, retired law enforcement officer and had earned numerous honors for his service.

“He really does care for other people,” McGreevy said.

Sullivan was sentenced to 38 days in jail, with credit for eight days of time he served after his arrest, and two years of probation for the meth charge. Sylvester also sentenced Sullivan to 38 days in jail with credit for eight days served on the prostitution charge.

The sentences are to be served simultaneously.

The felony meth charge carried a presumptive sentence of a year in jail and, with aggravating factors, could have meant as much as three years behind bars. But it was ultimately left up to the discretion of the judge.

Dougherty said Sullivan repeatedly used his position as a former sheriff to gain the confidence of gay meth users, bought items for them such as clothing and tires, bailed one out of jail, then used them as he saw fit.

“He became a manipulator, someone who used his position,” Dougherty said.

Sullivan was sheriff in Arapahoe County for 18 years before he retired in 2002, then served as head of security for Cherry Creek Public Schools before leaving in 2008.

Sullivan had a storied law enforcement career and was named Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriffs’ Association in 2001.

In 1989, the sheriff drove a Jeep through the fence of an Arapahoe County home to rescue two deputies and a wounded 17-year-old boy who had been taken hostage by a rape and murder suspect armed with a machine gun.

At least publicly, there were no hints of Sullivan leading a double life, and it’s not known when he began using meth.

“I plan to seek forgiveness from those that I have harmed,” Sullivan said.

Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com