Watertown man, former Onondaga County sheriff's deputy, charged again with illegal sex act
Jan. 23—WATERTOWN — A Watertown man and former Onondaga County sheriff's deputy faces a criminal sex act charge for the second time after police say he abused a 13-year-old boy about 10 years ago.
Alexander S. Nicholson, 46, was charged by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Monday with second-degree criminal sexual act, a felony.
The sheriff's office said the arrest comes amid an ongoing investigation prompted by a male victim reporting the abuse to have happened in 2013, when the victim was 13 years old.
Nicholson had previously been convicted of the same charge in November 2011 and served two years in state prison. The male victims were 14 and 16 years old at the time, according to the New York sex offender registry through the Division of Criminal Justice Services. Nicholson is a Level 2 sex offender, which requires him to register for life.
An offender's level of risk — Level 1, low; Level 2, moderate; and Level 3, high — is determined by a point system, with points assessed for different categories. Categories include the use of force, weapons, alcohol or drugs, the victim's age, number of victims, relationship to the victim or any injury of the victim, among other factors.
Each level may also carry a designation — sexual predator, sexually violent offender or predicate sex offender. Nicholson's current status does not bear a designation.
Nicholson pleaded guilty in September 2011 to the charge and admitted he had sex with a teen boy between July 12 and Aug. 31, 2007, according to syracuse.com.
Syracuse.com reported in October 2010 that Nicholson resigned that October after an investigation into his criminal sexual activity.
Nicholson was arraigned on Monday's charge in Watertown City Court, Centralized Arraignment Part, and was given pre-trial release to probation.
The sheriff's office says the investigation is ongoing and anyone who may have additional victim information is urged to contact Detective Carrie Mangino at 315-786-2750.
