A former Beaverton police officer was not arrested for more than a month after authorities learned he had abused his power of authority and solicited sex while on duty.

Washington County detectives interviewed Joshua Michael Jensen, 25, of Canby, May 21 following a woman's report that Jensen had met her through an online ad for escort services and coerced her to perform sexual acts while he was on duty. Jensen resigned on May 28.

Jensen was arraigned on and pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of prostitution, two counts of official misconduct and one count of coercion.

Judge Thomas Kohl sentenced Jensen in the same hearing to 30 months in prison, two years of post-prison supervision, counseling and a 12-step program for sexual addiction.

Authorities did not consider Jensen a threat to the community for the month that he was not in custody because he was immediately placed on administrative leave without his uniform, badge and gun, said Beaverton Police Chief Geoff Spalding.

"This was making calls to escort services," Spalding said. "There was no concern ... about the officer making stops on unsuspecting women. It's different."

An investigation yielded evidence of two incidents in which Jensen solicited sex while on duty through online ads for escort services.

In the first incident, which occurred in January, Jensen met a woman late at night in a parking lot and, while in uniform, paid her $40 to perform a sex act on him.

In the second incident, which occurred April 24, he met another woman in the same parking lot, threatened arrest for prostitution and forced her to perform a sex act without pay. That woman, while incarcerated in Clark County, reported Jensen to authorities on May 14.

Beaverton police began the investigation, but when text messages on the woman's phone linked the allegations to one of their own officers, they asked Washington County detectives to take over the investigation on May 18. The sheriff's office took over the investigation the next day.

Jensen's arraignment, plea entry and sentencing took less than an hour, but Spalding said the speed of the process had nothing to do with Jensen's status as a police officer.

Spalding said the speedy court process worked "in getting the person off the streets and into custody as quickly as possible."

Jensen's defense attorney, Mike Staropoli, said Jensen served in the U.S. Marines for about four years and saw active duty and combat in Iraq.

"There's a generation of soldiers who are experiencing things half a world away that are affecting them very deeply," Staropoli said. "(Jensen's experience) manifested itself in a way that's particularly troubling."

Upon his return from Iraq, Jensen was hired by Beaverton police in June 2008 and certified by the state as an officer in November 2009.

Spalding said Jensen's behavior was isolated.

"Clearly this is very embarrassing," he said. "Clearly it's an anomaly; this is something that speaks to someone's character."

District Attorney Roger Hanlon said Jensen was cooperative during the investigation and offered the name of one of his victims.

Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle said he learned of the allegations against Jensen at about the same time Jensen resigned on May 28.

"I felt let down by the behavior of the officer. The members of the police force, they work very hard, and to this point have displayed integrity and compassion throughout the community, and unfortunately this happened," Doyle said. "It's extremely unacceptable."

Doyle said Beaverton did not release information about Jensen during the past 30 days because the district attorney's office asked that the case remain confidential. Doyle said the city may review its handling of the Jensen case to determine if the public should be notified sooner, should another Beaverton employee resign amid a criminal investigation.

"We're going to look to see when's the earliest we can disclose information," Doyle said. "We have to rely on what the legal folks ask us to do. Because I certainly don't want to jeopardize the prosecution, because that would be the ultimate disservice to the public."

Brad Schmidt of The Oregonian staff contributed to this report.

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