Former Rare Staff
The wife of a Western Pennsylvania police chief spoke out after he was arrested for allegedly soliciting sexual activities from an undercover agent posing as a teenage girl online.
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Leechburg police Chief Mike Diebold, 40, was arrested and charged with unlawful contact with a minor and criminal intent to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse after exchanging messages with an undercover officer he believed to be a 14-year-old, authorities said. Diebold reportedly sent inappropriate pictures on several occasions.
His wife, Danielle Reinke Diebold, gave a statement to CBS Pittsburgh describing the serious impact of her husband’s charges.
They say God will never give you more than you can handle, but he did this time.
I have never hurt so bad in all my life.
I don’t know how to pick up all these broken pieces and find a way to put them back together and go on with my life, but I have to try to find a way for my children. Our lives have been completely shattered.
I am broken, devastated, humiliated, and I was completely blindsided.
He was the first man ever in my life who never made me question, never gave me a gut feeling, never a bad instinct or sign and we were even in the process of planning to extend our family.
This is not who we knew. We knew a loving, caring father and husband and we are grieving the loss of that man.
On the other hand, we are dealing with the raw emotions of having someone you loved and admired be charged with committing a terrible crime.
I feel like they are two different people — but they are not.
I will never find the right words to say but I want to say I am truly so sorry to everyone out there including any minor that may have been involved, our community, family and friends.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro called the case “particularly heinous,” considering Diebold was “a public official, sworn to serve and protect the community.”
Diebold lost his lower left arm in a fireworks accident over the summer. He gained numerous fans and supporters during his recovery.
He was arrested on Friday.
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