A former Ohio State police officer pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of child endangering Friday in Fairfield County, located southeast of Franklin County.

The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team arrested resident Jason D. Henthorn, 35, on June 8. He was originally charged with gross sexual imposition involving a child younger than 13 — the girl was 6 years old.

As part of his plea deal, the charges were lessened from a third-degree felony, which could have landed him in prison for five years, to a first-degree misdemeanor.

Judge Chris Martin of the Fairfield County Common Pleas Court sentenced Henthorn to 180 days in jail with 59 of those suspended because of two years of good behavior, the Lancaster Eagle Gazette reported Assistant Fairfield County Prosecutor Gregg Marx saying.

At the time of his arrest, Henthorn was an OSU police officer and had served as one since 2000. He was a deputy with the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office from 1996 to 2000.

In an e-mail to The Lantern, OSU Police Chief Paul Denton said the OSU Police Department has an open and ongoing Internal Affairs investigation, which was “initiated immediately when criminal charges were filed.”

“Henthorn was relieved from duty when we learned of the serious allegations,” Denton said. “Until (the investigation) is concluded, he will remain relieved from duty and not return to work.”

Henthorn was on an OSU police crime scene team that won the department’s team award in 2006.