Ex-Chester police officer charged with having pictures of naked minors on his phone, DA says

A former Chester police officer was charged with having child sexual abuse material on his phone, Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said Tuesday. 

Leon Paparo, the former Chester officer, was charged with child sexual abuse material, unlawful use of a computer and more after a monthslong investigation by the DA's office. 

Paparo, who had served with Chester Police since 2008, was placed on leave when they learned about the investigation, a city spokesperson said.   

In April, Chester's JNET Terminal Agency Coordinators were required to perform an audit to make sure all users were using it correctly. JNET is used throughout Pennsylvania and provides law enforcement and criminal justice professionals with access to important information, including criminal history, warrants and more, according to Rouse. 

During the audit, Rouse said investigators found suspicious searches on Paparo's account. 

Several searches included people who were not part of incidents reported by Chester Police. Rouse said the searches included employees from the Delaware County DA's office, ex-girlfriends, court staff, local individuals and Chester City personnel. 

When using JNET to search, users need to provide a "reason" for the search, Rouse said. However, Paparo left that prompt blank when searching for the individuals.

Rouse said investigators reported the findings to the DA's office in July, and it was later revealed that Paparo was the records custodian for the Chester Police Department. His role included filing cases and adding any missing documents, including driver's license photos. 

In one instance, Rouse said investigators found out that Paparo was accused of having inappropriate contact with a minor. 

Rouse said the DA's office obtained the incident report and it said that Paparo allegedly approached a 15-year-old girl and asked if she was "willing to do pony rides for his daughter." 

According to Rouse, Paparo exchanged numbers with the minor, and he continued to reach out to her, despite her telling him she was 15 years old. Paparo allegedly sent sexually related messages to the minor and asked her to sign up for a video-sharing service, Rouse said. Paparo allegedly searched the 15-year-old and her mother in JNET, Rouse said. 

In August, a search warrant was executed at the Chester Police Department, where Paparo turned over his phone and passcode, Rouse said. 

Paparo allegedly gave investigators permission to search his devices and admitted that he "searches people." He also told them they would see "dirty pictures" on his phone. 

Rouse said investigators found multiple folders on Paparo's phone that contained sexual images of women. The folders were categorized by each woman, and there was another called "random." In that folder, Rouse said they found several naked images of minors. 

Rouse said that Paparo ran the minors through JNET, where he could verify their dates of birth and addresses. 

Paparo turned himself in to authorities Tuesday, Rouse said. Paparo was arraigned, with his bail set at 10% of $500,000. 

Paparo is at George W. Hill Correctional Facility awaiting his preliminary hearing on Nov. 5.