Teacher pleads not guilty to attempted online seduction of teen

Staff report
December 24, 2008

REDWOOD CITY — A Petaluma teacher arrested by Burlingame police in a “To Catch a Predator”-type sting set up via MySpace pleaded not guilty to four felony charges Tuesday.

Burlingame police arrested 34-year-old high school teacher Scott Dietlin on Nov. 22 after he allegedly pursued a fake 15-year-old girl named “Jackie” via MySpace, prosecutors said. Two 15-year-old boys set up the fictitious MySpace profile, complete with a photo, as a joke on their friends.

Dietlin, however, allegedly started using instant or text messaging to engage in very sexually explicit communication with “Jackie,” prosecutors said.

The boys who created the profile reported the incident to Burlingame police, who pretended to be “Jackie” in order to set up a meeting with Dietlin in San Mateo, where they arrested him.

Dietlin is charged with sending harmful matter through e-mail with intent to seduce, sending harmful matter to a minor, communicating with a minor to engage in a lewd act, and arranging and attending a meeting for the purpose of engaging in a lewd act with a minor.

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Reader Comments

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Dec 24, 2008

I think they should throw the book at this fellow...Way to much of this going on and they are getting back on the streets way to soon. I still have vivid memories of what a relative did to me as a child and I do not want any child to endure the agony I did.

Dec 24, 2008

This teacher should have been a roll model for our children, not a predator!!! Sure hope that justice is served and he is thrown in the slammer for a long long time. He does not need to be on the streets searching for more young girls to molest!!!!!

Dec 25, 2008

Thank You Jackie for being alert enough to get this guy caught, You may have saved many young girls from his hands.....and I hope that the girls that have been contacted by him come forward so the Burlingame Police have more evidence to put him away for a long time!! To bad we, the taxpayers have to pay to feed and shelter this creep. He most likely was hiding as a teacher so he could have access to more young women.

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