Alexander Nicholson
/ File photo
ONONDAGA CO. -- A former Onondaga County Sheriff’s deputy will spend the next two years in prison for having sex with a teenage boy.
35-year-old Alexander Nicholson, of 134 Dewey Avenue, was sentenced in Onondaga County Court this morning. After two years behind bars, he will serve three years on probation.
Nicholson pleaded guilty in September to criminal sexual act, admitting he had sex with a 14-year-old boy. Another young alleged victim was also named in the indictment against Nicholson, but the child refused to participate in the criminal case against him. That 16-year-old told investigators he was subjected to sexual activity with Nicholson in June of 2010.
Nicholson was with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department for eight years. He was awarded the department's Medal of Valor in 2008. In 2004, he was credited with saving a woman's life. News accounts from that time indicate Nicholson used an automatic external defibrillator to give her electric shocks after her heart failed.
Prosecutor Matthew Doran spoke to reporters after the sentencing. He says, "Alex Nicholson did have an excellent career as a deputy for approximately 10 years, but unfortunately, as Judge Fahey said correctly, what he did that led to these charges really marred that and really ruined that reputation."
Doran says he and the victims believe the sentence is fair.
Nicholson resigned from the Sheriff’s Department when the criminal allegations were leveled against him. Defense attorney Emil Rossi says Nicholson would "give or do anything" to undo what happened. He says, "Alex's positions was that he wanted to set the situation straight. He wanted to accept responsibility for what he had done, and he wanted to do whatever it was to bring this matter to a resolution."
