Former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold pleaded guilty in Armstrong County Court on Wednesday to failing to properly register as a sex offender.
Diebold, 44, was charged by state police in Armstrong County in January 2020 with two felony counts of failing to provide accurate information when he registered as a sex offender, which was among the requirements of his sentence.
He entered the guilty plea Wednesday before Judge James J. Panchik.
Diebold’s lawyer, Daniel Joseph, said he would seek leniency when his client is sentenced in late November.
Diebold pleaded guilty in December 2018 to soliciting sex online from a state trooper posing as a 14-year-old girl. He was sentenced to serve nine to 23 months in jail and three years on probation.
The former police chief’s arrest was the result of a child predator sting conducted by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
He pleaded guilty to statutory sexual assault, attempted statutory sexual assault, unlawful restraint and criminal use of a communications device.
In addition to jail time and probation, he was required to register as a sex offender and refrain from using the internet for anything other than work.
But Diebold was arrested again last December on charges that he violated the terms of his release by using a social media site to contact a woman. He also was accused of sending her inappropriate photos from his phone.
The charges to which Diebold pleaded guilty Wednesday were related to the same incident that prompted the alleged parole violation and his rearrest, according to prosecutors.
