A former Chester police officer accused of using his access to a statewide law enforcement database to track down a minor and stockpile child sexual abuse material now faces 105 criminal counts. Leon Paparo, 45, of Springfield, surrendered to investigators Tuesday after an arrest warrant was issued the day before, and he remains jailed at George W. Hill Correctional Facility ahead of a preliminary hearing.
Paparo faces 77 felony counts of unlawful use of a computer along with multiple charges tied to child sexual abuse material, according to Patch. He is also charged with invasion of privacy and related offenses, per NBC10 Philadelphia. Bail was set at 10 percent of $500,000, and online court records listed no attorney who could speak on his behalf, NBC10 reported.
An Audit Flagged Suspicious Database Activity
The case traces back to an April 6 audit that uncovered suspicious searches run under Paparo's account on the Pennsylvania Justice Network, known as JNET, according to Daily Voice. JNET serves as the commonwealth's primary public safety and criminal justice information broker, giving authorized law enforcement and criminal justice professionals access to records, warrants, and other sensitive data, per Pennsylvania's state government. Access to that intelligence is legally restricted to authorized employees of a criminal justice agency, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Paparo had served as the Chester Police Department's records custodian since 2018, a role that gave him JNET access, according to the same Daily Voice account. His searches reportedly reached well beyond anyone connected to actual Chester police investigations, pulling up district attorney's office employees, court staff, Chester city personnel, relatives and former girlfriends who had no tie to his work. Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said employees of his own office had their information accessed without legitimate purpose, per NBC10.
Phone Search Allegedly Turned Up Images Of A Minor
Investigators say Paparo consented to a search of his devices and turned over his phone and passcode. Detectives say they found sexual images of women and naked images of minors on the phone, the station's report states. Among them were seven images of a girl found in a folder labeled “Random,” which investigators determined were created on Paparo's phone on June 3, 2024, according to Daily Voice.
Authorities allege Paparo used JNET to search for that same girl on May 12, 2025, gaining access to records that included her birth date and address. Per the same account, detectives say Paparo used JNET to verify the birthdates and addresses of children, and that in July 2022 he searched a different girl and her mother. NBC10 reported that Paparo admitted to investigators he often searched people and that they would see “dirty pictures” when going through his phone.
Officials Describe A Pattern Dating Back Years
NBC10 reported that officials say Paparo is accused of soliciting sexual images of children and using an official search system to find their personal information. The outlet also reported that Paparo was accused in 2015 of approaching a 15-year-old girl and asking whether she wanted to do pony rides for his daughter, then exchanging phone numbers with her and, after learning her age, continuing conversations that officials say included sexually explicit messages and a request that she sign up for a video-sharing service. Pennsylvania State Police reviewed that 2015 incident with prosecutors, but no criminal charges were filed at the time, according to Daily Voice.
Rouse called the case an abuse of authority and a betrayal of public trust, saying that an officer's abuse of power to solicit sexual images of minors is unimaginable, per NBC10. He said he would not tolerate abuse of authority or the exploitation of children. Chester's JTAC officers reported the unauthorized JNET use to the Delaware County District Attorney's Office on July 10, and detectives executed a search warrant at the Chester Police Department on Aug. 7, according to NBC10's reporting.
Department Response And What Comes Next
The Chester Police Department said it immediately removed Paparo from active duty and placed him on administrative leave after being notified of the investigation in August, according to 6ABC. NBC10 said it was seeking a statement from the department and would update its reporting if one is received. Paparo's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5.
JNET's policy calls for its technical oversight body to conduct quarterly audits to check for compliance and security integrity, according to Pennsylvania's state government, and the system also prompts users to explain the reason for each search — a prompt investigators say Paparo left blank during his searches, per NBC10's reporting.
Not An Isolated Pattern In Pennsylvania
Paparo's case follows other recent Pennsylvania prosecutions over JNET misuse. A state Superior Court panel in May upheld the conviction of former Williamsport police corporal Eric Derr, who was found guilty on 28 counts of misusing the database and sentenced in November 2024 to probation that included a year of house arrest with electronic monitoring and a $2,800 fine, according to PennLive. Separately, former Schuylkill County officer Douglas Litwhiler faces 21 felony charges after allegedly running 21 JNET searches on his ex-wife, her boyfriend and a contractor after his own termination from the East Union police force, according to Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
