HARRISBURG – Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that Michael W. Diebold, former Leechburg Chief of Police in Armstrong County, pled guilty to felony charges of unlawful contact with a minor and other related charges. He was sentenced to 9 to 23 months of incarceration, followed by three years of probation, and will serve his time at the Westmoreland County Prison.
Diebold, 41, of Forks Church Road, Leechburg, was arrested in January 2018 for soliciting sex from an undercover agent from the Attorney General’s Office posing as a 14-year-old girl online.
“This case is particularly heinous because the perpetrator is a public official, sworn to serve and protect the community,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. “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.”
The undercover agent told Diebold he was an underage female child on multiple occasions. Diebold sent inappropriate pictures to the undercover agent and solicited the agent for unlawful sexual contact. He then made plans to meet the undercover agent. Upon arriving at the designated meeting location in Westmoreland County, Diebold was taken into custody.
“Thanks to the hard work of the agents and prosecutors in our Child Predator Section, one more predator has faced justice and will no longer be able to harm children,” Attorney General Shapiro said. “We are working relentlessly to get every perpetrator out of our communities and to keep Pennsylvania’s children safe.”
The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Chuck Washburn.
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