A juvenile institutional officer in the Alameda County Probation Department has been accused of sex acts with a teenager that occurred more than 17 years ago.

Nicole Perales, 50, faces charges including oral copulation with a boy who was 15 at the time, the District Attorney's Office said in a statement Friday.

Perales, who has worked for the county for more than two decades, allegedly met the boy in custody at the Alameda Juvenile Justice Center. The acts purportedly took place between Aug. 27, 2004, and Aug. 26, 2005.

If convicted, Perales could face up to three years and eight months behind bars, according to the district attorney's statement.

The statement said the case involved the prosecutor's public accountability unit, created by District Attorney Pamela Price in January.