GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A suspended western Pennsylvania police chief has pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from an undercover agent posing as a teenager.
Forty-one-year-old suspended Leechburg chief Michael Diebold pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony counts of statutory sexual assault, attempted statutory sexual assault, unlawful restraint and criminal use of a communications device.
A Westmoreland County judge sentenced him to nine months to 23 months, with three years of probation. Defense attorney Duke George said that given time already served, he will be eligible for parole Jan. 28.
Investigators said the crime occurred while the community was rallying around Diebold after he lost part of his arm in a fireworks accident.
Leechburg officials reported offering him chances to resign, but he rejected one offer and hadn’t responded to a second as of last month.
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