Small-town Pa. police chief tried to have sex with a 14-year-old girl, state AG says

Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold, who lost part of his left arm in a fireworks accident last summer, has been charged with attempting to arrange a sexual encounter with a teenage girl and related crimes.

The state attorney general’s office said Friday it charged the 40-year-old police chief with unlawful contact with a minor and criminal attempt to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, both felonies.

“This case is particularly heinous because the perpetrator is a public official, sworn to serve and protect the community,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement.

“We have a zero tolerance policy for the sexual abuse of children and my office will prosecute any offender to the fullest extent of the law, no matter who they are.”

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The attorney general’s office said Chief Diebold used an online messaging app to send inappropriate photos and solicited sexual contact from an undercover agent posing as a 14-year-old girl. The chief also made plans to meet the undercover agent, according to the AG’s office.

When Chief Diebold arrived at the location where he was supposed to meet the teenager Friday in Westmoreland County, agents from the attorney general’s child predator section arrested him.

“Diebold stated that he had been using the internet to post ads in the personal sections for the last several years,” Special Agent Daniel Block wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. “Diebold acknowledged to having conversations about sex with the other [app] user, the purported minor in this investigation that he was attempting to meet. ... Diebold admitted that he knew that sexual contact with a 14 year [old] child was wrong and illegal and that his life was totally over.”

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He was placed in the Westmoreland County Jail on $500,000 bond, according to a spokesman for the AG’s office. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 16 in Leechburg.

Chief Diebold received national attention after he lost part of an arm in a fireworks accident in June.

He intended to return to his job in December but was placed on paid leave by Leechburg officials Dec. 11.

Leechburg Mayor Wayne Dobos said in a phone interview Friday evening that the borough had no idea about any criminal investigation when it made the decision to place the chief on leave.

“This was all over his accident, and the lawyers are trying to work out whatever with that,” he said.

Mr. Dobos said he had just learned about the charges on Friday.

“This is all a surprise to me,” he said. “I’m just as shocked as everyone else.”

Mr. Dobos said he could not comment on what Leechburg might do concerning the chief. He said he had to talk with borough council and attorneys before making any decisions.

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“Right now I have no comment outside of I’m shocked,” he said.

Chief Diebold lost his left hand and part of his forearm June 24 when a mortar misfired as he was lighting fireworks for the Leechburg Volunteer Fire Co.’s annual carnival.

He was treated for his injuries at UPMC Mercy in Uptown. At a news conference coinciding with his release from the hospital, Chief Diebold said it appeared that the firework exploded immediately upon exiting its mortar tube.

Special Agent Charlene Hennessy of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Philadelphia division said in June that Chief Diebold was listed as the CEO of Aura Fireworks and had a license to handle display fireworks — the typical kind people see at Fourth of July celebrations.

Eighteen days after the accident, Chief Diebold married Danielle Reinke in a ceremony attended by about 200 people along the Kiskiminetas River. The couple recently had a baby boy.

Ms. Reinke did not return a phone message Friday.

Several weeks after being released from the hospital, Chief Diebold was fitted with a prosthetic arm. He was hoping the limb would allow him to return to his job, but before he could return he was placed on leave.

Then the attorney general’s office filed the charges, leaving his future with the department deeper in doubt.

The Armstrong County borough about 35 miles northeast of Pittsburgh has a police force of three full-time officers, including Chief Diebold, and 15 part-time officers.

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