Bullock

Former Warren County sheriff Edward Bullock faces six child sex charges, authorities report.

(Express-Times File Photo)

Former

Sheriff

has been indicted on six counts of sexual assault dating to the late 1980s, New Jersey Superior Court records show.

Bullock, who turns 85 on March 10 and has lived in Ocean County for more than two decades, was not in custody today. An indictment generally leads to an arrest warrant and first court appearance.

The county's first assistant prosecutor, Michael McDonald, said no arrest warrant will be issued; his office has been in touch with an attorney for Bullock and arrangements are being made for his surrender. No date was set as of today.

Bullock did not immediately return a phone message from a reporter and his attorney, Brian White, declined to comment.

A Warren County grand jury returned the indictment against Bullock on Feb. 26. The county prosecutor's office announced the charges today.

Bullock is charged with three counts each of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and second-degree sexual assault.

He allegedly assaulted a boy on dates ranging from December 1986 to January 1988, starting when the boy was 10. McDonald said the acts are alleged to have taken place while

the victim was in Bullock's custody and control as sheriff.

A first-degree charge carries a maximum term of 20 years in New Jersey State Prison; a second-degree charge carries a maximum 10 years in state prison.

Five of the counts stem from incidents in Mansfield Township, with one of the second-degree counts concerning an incident in Belvidere, court records say. Mansfield Township is where the county's former juvenile detention center,

, was located. Belvidere is the county seat and home to the sheriff's office.

Probe launched in 2013

.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

A look at the key events leading up the indictment against Edward G. Bullock can be found here.

The indictment is related to that investigation, McDonald said.

"It is certainly difficult to do an investigation on conduct that is that long ago, but we were able to do it with local law enforcement," the first assistant prosecutor said.

The investigation was conducted by the Warren County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit and Warren County Major Crimes Unit, with assistance from the Warren County Sheriff's Department, Hackettstown Police Department and New Jersey State Police.

when the victim was between the ages of 8 and 11. The complaint alleged county officials were aware of the abuse but failed to take action.

Bullock, of Whiting, N.J., was not initially identified by name in the lawsuit but was sheriff at the time. He has since been named -- and been an active participant -- in the civil proceedings, said Brad Russo, attorney for the accuser in the civil complaint.

While Russo said his client participated in the prosecutor's office investigation, he could not confirm whether his client was the victim referenced in the grand jury indictments.

Prosecution commended

The Phillipsburg-based attorney last year questioned whether a conflict of interest existed with the county prosecutor's office leading the criminal investigation into Bullock while a civil suit is pending against the county.

Today, Russo praised Burke and his office for their work on the investigation.

"It's no small thing for the prosecutor's office to make this decision and they should be commended," he said. "This is the definition of accountability. All these years later, the prosecutor's office is standing up and saying, 'This wasn't right.' And it means something to those that were affected."

Bullock has been in trouble with the law before and served time in prison. He was in the elected office from 1982 until 1991, when he resigned after he was arrested for trying to curry sexual favors from an undercover police officer posing as a teenage boy.

He pleaded guilty to official misconduct and spent nine months in the Hunterdon County Jail. He soon after moved to Ocean County.

At the time, he also admitted to using his authority over boys at Warren Acres to cultivate future sex partners, and also told authorities that he had sexual contact with eight boys. No sexual assault charges were filed because authorities found that the boys were 16 or older and were no longer at the detention center at the time of the encounters.