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Pennsylvania police chief arrested in online child sex sting

Michael William Diebold, arrested in a child sex sting, identified himself online as "kutecop4you."
Image: Michael William Diebold
Michael William DieboldWestmoreland County Prison

A Pennsylvania police chief arrested in a child sex sting operation identified himself as a “kutecop4you” in an online ad and allegedly said “everyone has to have a first time” when the phony school girl he was corresponding with told him she was only 14.

“You will just have to get me naked tomorrow,” the chief, Michael William Diebold, who runs the three-man Leechburg Police Department, wrote, according to a criminal complaint obtained Monday by NBC News. “I’m not teasing.”

But the teenager was really a special agent for the state Attorney General’s office named Daniel Block.

Now Diebold, who became a local celebrity and the object of great sympathy last year after losing his lower left arm in a fireworks accident, is charged with unlawful contact with a minor and other offenses and was being held on $500,000 bond at the Westmoreland County Prison in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

“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.”

Investigators zeroed-in on Diebold on Sept. 15 after he allegedly posted an ad spelling out in no uncertain terms what kind of sex he was looking for — and clearly identified himself as a cop.

“I am a dom male that is also employed as a full time police officer,” the ad read. “I hope that doesn’t scare you off.” Diebold, 40, described himself in the ad as “white, straight, good looking, clean,” said he was disease free as well as “mentally stable and fun.”

“I am looking for a female sub for ongoing play sessions,” the ad read. “I respect any and all limits and you do not need to be experienced.”

Leechburg Police Chief Michael Diebold, left, tries out his new prosthetic at Union Orthotics and Prosthetics in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 6.
Leechburg Police Chief Michael Diebold, left, tries out his new prosthetic at Union Orthotics and Prosthetics in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 6.Andrew Russell / Pittsburgh Tribune-Review via AP

Diebold was allegedly not deterred when Block, pretending to be an eighth-grade girl, told him repeatedly he was 14.

“Need a warm up, how much room is in that cozy bed,” he allegedly wrote.

Then on Dec. 29, Diebold allegedly sent Block an image of what appeared to be a picture of his erect penis hidden by jeans.

Police were waiting when Diebold went to meet the fictional girl.

Wayne Dobos, the mayor of Leechburg, a borough of about 2,000 people some 35 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, said that Diebold "has been suspended without pay." But he remains the chief of the police on the municipal web site.

Just last summer, Diebold found himself on the receiving end of nationwide sympathy — and was interviewed by ABC's "Good Morning America" — after he was maimed on June 24 in a fireworks accident at the Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company’s annual carnival.

Despite the injury, Diebold and fiancée Danielle Reinke tied the knot 18 days later.

"I've heard from police officers across the nation, across the world," Diebold said while leaving the hospital. "I've heard from people I've put in jail. I've had visitors here that I've cited for things in the past. It's been really touching."