Chester police officer charged with possessing child porn
Leon Paparo, 45, of Springfield, surrendered Tuesday to Delaware County investigators and was being held at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility.
A Chester police officer was charged with possession of child pornography and using law-enforcement resources to conduct unauthorized searches of people, Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said Tuesday.
Leon Paparo, 45, of Springfield, surrendered Tuesday to Delaware County investigators and was being held at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in lieu of 10% of $500,000 bail, Rouse said.
In a statement, the city of Chester said the police department was notified in August of the investigation of Paparo, who was then placed on administrative leave.
Rouse described Paparo as a former Chester police officer, but the city said in its statement Paparo was still with the department. He joined the force in 2008 and was working in the records department since around 2018, the city said.
“The Chester Police Department takes matters of this nature seriously and is committed to taking prompt and appropriate administrative action when warranted. As of today, he is still on administrative leave,” the city said in the statement on Tuesday.
“To protect the integrity of the investigation, the Department will have no further comment at this time,” the city said.
No attorney was listed Tuesday for Paparo in court records.
Rouse said the investigation began in April when the Chester Police Department found suspicious searches allegedly conducted by Paparo using JNET, a system in Pennsylvania for law enforcement and criminal justice professionals to access records online.
Paparo allegedly searched ex-girlfriends, Chester city personnel, court staff, local individuals, and employees from the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office.
During the investigation, a county detective learned about a 2015 incident in which Paparo allegedly had inappropriate contact with a then-underage girl. Charges were not filed in that case, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Paparo allegedly conducted searches on the now-adult woman, identified only as “Jane Doe,” and her mother, the affidavit said.
Detectives conducted a search on Paparo’s iPhone and allegedly found a folder labeled “Random” that contained seven nude images of another underage girl photographing herself in a mirror. That girl was subsequently identified.
The investigation found that Paparo allegedly had photographed the images in 2024 as they were displayed on another phone’s Snapchat app used by a person related to Paparo, according to the affidavit. The affidavit does not further describe Paparo’s relative.
The victim, who was 16 when she took the photos, told investigators that she knew Paparo but did not intend for the photos to be obtained by him, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
Paparo was charged with 105 criminal counts, including seven counts of child sexual abuse materials.
“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 and position to solicit sexual images of minors is unimaginable, but all too real,” Rouse said in a statement.
“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.” Rouse said.
