A former Chester police officer faces child pornography charges after he solicited sexual images of children and used an official search system to look up their personal information, investigators said.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.
Leon Paparo, 45, of Springfield, Pennsylvania, is charged with unlawful use of computer, child sexual abuse material, invasion of privacy, and other related offenses.
The investigation began on April 6, 2026, with an audit of JNET, a system that provides authorized law enforcement and criminal justice professionals with access to criminal records, warrants, and other information. One of Chester’s JNET Terminal Agency Coordinators (JTAC) performed the audit to make sure the system was being used correctly.
During the audit, officials determined there were suspicious searches under the account of Leon Paparo, who was a Chester police officer at the time. Investigators said the searches were for people who weren’t involved in any incidents in Cheser, including employees from the Delaware County District Attorney’s office, local individuals, Paparo’s ex-girlfriends, court staff and Chester City personnel.
JNET includes a prompt in which users share the reason why they searched for something. However, Paparo left that part blank while conducting his searches, according to investigators.
On July 10, 2026, JTAC officers reported the unauthorized usage of the JNET system to the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office. They then learned that Paparo was the records custodian for the Chester Police Department. His assignments included filing cases and adding missing documents such as driver’s license photos. Paparo also included case numbers associated with individuals.
Investigators then learned of an incident from 2015 in which Paparo was accused of approaching a 15-year-old girl and asking her if she wanted to do pony rides for his daughter. Officials said Paparo exchanged numbers with the teen and began to have conversations with her even after learning her age. He then began sending sexually explicit messages to her and asked her to sign up for a video-sharing service, officials said. Paparo then searched the teen and her mother, according to investigators.
On Aug. 7, 2026, detectives executed a search warrant at the Chester Police Department and Paparo turned over his phone as well as his passcode. After giving them consent to search his devices, Paparo admitted he often searched people and that they would see “dirty pictures” while looking through his phone, according to investigators. Detectives said they found sexual images of women as well as naked images of children on the phone. Paparo allegedly used JNET to verify the birthdates and addresses of those children.
An arrest warrant was issued for Paparo on Oct. 26, 2026, and he surrendered to the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division the next day. He was arraigned with bail set at 10% of $500,000. He is currently in custody at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5, 2026.
Online court records don’t list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
“This case is not only an abuse of authority and betrayal of public trust, but a sickening reminder that sometimes we need to be protected from the protectors. To think that a law enforcement officer would abuse his power to and position to solicit sexual images of minors is unimaginable, but all too real,” Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said. “This case also hits close to home because employees of my office had their information accessed without any legitimate purpose. They come to work every day committed to serving the people of Delaware County and should never have to worry about their information improperly accessed by someone we are supposed to trust. I will not tolerate the abuse of authority or the exploitation of children.”
NBC10 is reaching out to the Chester Police Department for a statement on the allegations against Paparo. We will include a response once we receive one.
