A 40-year-old Ventura County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a juvenile relative, authorities said He was jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Thomas Terry Triplett, a 15-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, was arrested on suspicion of oral copulation with a person under 18 years old, unlawful intercourse and continuous sexual abuse a spokesman for the department said.

A spokesman said the deputy works at the Sheriff’s Department headquarters at the County Government Center in Ventura. The investigation is continuing.

Triplett has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of criminal and departmental investigations, officials said