Correction appended

A former Washington County sheriff's sergeant was sentenced Monday to five years of probation for having sex with a 15-year-old boy in Idaho after meeting him through a dating app.

Michael Alexander, 46, of Lake Oswego pleaded guilty in March in Canyon County 3rd District Court to lewd conduct with a child under 16.

An additional charge of enticing a child over the Internet was dropped as part of a plea agreement. He faced a maximum penalty of life in prison on the lewd conduct charge.

Alexander could be sentenced to two years in prison if he violates his probation, said his attorney Gerald Bublitz.

Prosecutors said Alexander traveled to Idaho to have sex with the boy at least twice in 2015. An investigation began when the boy's mother discovered texts between her son and Alexander.

The boy told investigators he created an account on Grindr in January 2015 and claimed he was 18, court document show. He reported beginning to text with Alexander while he visited Oregon on vacation two months later.

"Mr. Alexander wasn't the only one and the reality is, being a police officer doesn't make you Houdini," Bublitz said. "Yes, he fell for it. But should he have known? No."

Alexander, a patrol sergeant based in Cornelius, was placed on unpaid administrative leave in late February 2016 when the Meridian Police Department in Idaho told the Washington County Sheriff's Office that it was investigating text messages between Alexander and the boy, according to a search warrant affidavit.

The texts included discussions of the two having sex in Alexander's pickup and a photo of the sergeant wearing his uniform and badge while sitting behind a desk with a sheriff negotiator placard on it, the affidavit said.

Alexander resigned in March 2016. He had worked for the Sheriff's Office for 19 years.

Alexander's arrest last year came in the midst of several Washington County Sheriff's officers convicted of misconduct, with most of the cases sex-related.

Dan Cardinal, a former Washington County sergeant, was sentenced to two years of probation in January 2016 for repeatedly having sex with female coworkers while he was on duty.

Former Deputy David Bergquist received a year and a half of probation that March for pulling a female colleague's breast out of her clothing and putting his mouth on it during a union party in 2015.

Former Cpl. Jon Christensen was sentenced in September 2016 to two years of probation for choking a female deputy the year before while demanding that she continue with their sexual relationship.

The deputy has since sued Christensen, the county, its sheriff and others alleging the police agency regularly subjects her and other female employees to sexual misconduct by male colleagues, discourages them from reporting it and retaliated against her for disclosing wrongdoing. The county has denied the deputy's claims.

Note: A previous version of this story misstated Alexander's sentence.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey