Below was found online today from the SF Examiner - nothing yet locally. (as a parent of one his students, this is pretty disturbing)

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Burlingame police arrest Petaluma teacher in minor's solicitation
By Beth Winegarner
Examiner Staff Writer 11/23/08

BURLINGAME – A Petaluma high school teacher is expected to be arraigned Monday in San Mateo County Court on charges that he sent electronic messages to a minor, hoping to seduce the youngster.
Police arrested Scott Eugene Dietlin, 34, at an undisclosed location in San Mateo on Saturday morning, where he allegedly had made arrangements to meet with the minor, according to a report from the Burlingame Police Department.

Dietlin has taught history and economics at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma for the past 10 years, according to Burlingame police Sgt. Edward Nakiso.

Local police caught wind of Dietlin's alleged activities after two local teens established a profile on MySpace and posted a photo of a young woman as though it were her profile, according to Nakiso.

"Our suspect had started engaging in e-mails with them, and when the minors realized something wasn't right, they came forward to police," Nakiso said.

Another Burlingame detective, posing as a teenage girl, struck up communication with Dietlin, who then allegedly arranged a time to meet with the "teen" in San Mateo for a potential sexual encounter, according to Nakiso.

Dietlin was booked into San Mateo County Jail, where he remains in custody on $550,000 bail, according to Nakiso. After obtaining a warrant, Burlingame police searched his vehicle and his home in Petaluma, where they reportedly found condoms, a computer and a cell phone police believed were used in the communications.

Here is the article I found in the San Mateo Daily Journal. Also my daughter's teacher last year.

Teacher arrested for trying to seduce minor
Daily Journal staff report

A 34-year-old teacher from Petaluma was arrested Saturday morning in San Mateo on several felony charges relating to trying to meet and seduce a minor, according to Burlingame police detectives, who made the arrest.
At approximately 9:45 a.m., Burlingame police detectives arrested Scott Eugene Dietlin on charges of sending harmful matter (via electronic e-mail) with the intent to seduce a minor, attempting to contact a minor with intent to commit a sexual offense, and arranging to meet with a minor with intent to commit a sexual offense, according to a police press release.

This arrest was the culmination of a week-long investigation in which it was discovered Dietlin was sending e-mails and texts to a minor for the purpose of sexual gratification. Dietlin also communicated that he wanted to meet the minor and engage in sexual activity, police said.

Dietlin teaches at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma and was arrested at an undisclosed location in San Mateo, after he had made arrangements and arrived to meet with the minor, according to police.

Subsequent to his arrest, Burlingame Police Detectives executed a search warrant on Dietlin’s vehicle and residence in Petaluma. Several items from the search were seized, including condoms, a computer, and cell phone, which investigators believed, were used in the crimes, police said.

Did Dietlin go to Casa as a student? My husband vaguely remembers a Scott Dietlin when he went to school at Casa (he can't find his yearbook at the moment).

I am pretty sure he did. At back to school night, he talked alot about how he put himself thru school, starting with Casa, then the JC, and then SSU.

quote:

Originally posted by ohsuzyq:
I am pretty sure he did. At back to school night, he talked alot about how he put himself thru school, starting with Casa, then the JC, and then SSU.

Yes, he went to Casa--per two people I know who were in school with him. Curious as to what--or when--anything will appear in the PD or the Argus. Bet there were some interesting meetings at school today.

The news story was just posted on Petaluma 360.

The Channel 2 News had a story about this last evening and this morning.

He graduated in 1992, I remember him but don't recall anything out of the ordinary about him.

My kids said it was the talk of the school today. Here is a new article with quotes from the superintendent...
Link

Dietlin was indeed in the class of 1992. He talked to his students about that frequently.

I honestly thought today was awful. People paraded around our school joking about what had happened as if it were all a joke. I just have trouble seeing it this way. Dietlin was a good teacher and friend to many students and faculty at our school. He had taught at Casa for 10 years without the slightest complaint from anyone. I was in his economics class. I really like(d) Dietlin. I've often found him to be incredibly smart and cool. I fully respected him. I did find the way he presented himself to be awkward, but i never found him to be a creeper. I, along with many other students, spent time talking to him after class frequently. And now, to hear all that has happened, i feel hurt, upset, and, in a way, betrayed. It makes me sick to my stomach. I feel angry. Angry at the stupid decisions dietlin made. Angry at the immaturity of the majority of the people at our school over the incident. Angry at the means for which he was brought in, however necessary they were. Angry at all the people saying, I KNEW THAT HE WOULD DO THIS, IM NOT AT ALL SUPRISED. Its totally not true. But i'm equally sad. Sad for his family, his friends, his life, and his students. It feels to me almost as if he died. His absence as already affected a number of students. Including myself, for some reason. I just dont like this situation and i really don't know how to express how i feel. I will miss Dietlin...As crazy as that sounds.

But anyways...enough about what i think.


The update on Scott Eugene Dietlin, the Economics and World History teacher of Casa Grande:

An accumulation of articles have all created this one story:

In the past week, two teenage, San Mateo boys created a fake Myspace account where they posed as a 17 year old girl named "Jackie". They found pictures of a girl online and posted them on the page as if they were pictures of Jackie. Dietlin struck up a conversation with these boys, thinking they were Jackie. The boys kept up their act and spoke to Dietlin for a while. At a certain point in their communicating, Dietlins messages got a little "weird". One source has said he sent naked photos of himself at one point, This is when the boys turned over the account to the San Mateo police. The police continued posing as Jackie and eventually Dietlin set up a time to meet with Jackie. Dietlin drove to Burlingame on Saturday morning and was arrested on site. His initial bail was set at 500,000 dollars but, after arraignment this morning, a judge raised his bail to 700,000 dollars. Dietlin currently faces four felony charges that could add up to a max of 5 years in jail for Dietlin as well as having to be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life.


As for our classes at school... Today our principal and vice principal addressed our AP economics class. They let us know what they knew about the situation and they gave us their plan for the remainder of the year, making sure to reassure us things will be okay. They have put in place a substitute, Ms. Kane (sp?), who is well versed in both economics and history. During the course of our class period we were able to locate all of Dietlins lecture notes and class materials so i believe we will be able to get through the year with relatively little harm done to our education in economics. It is just unfortunate that the great teacher, Mr. Dietlin, will not be there to help us.


If you'd like to read the articles, here they are, as they were published:


Link. smdailyjournal. com/article_preview. php?eddate=&id=101462

Link. sfexaminer. com/local/Burlingame_police_arrest_Petaluma_teacher_in_minors_solicitation. html

Link. pressdemocrat. com/article/20081124/COMMUNITY/811240281?Title=Casa_Grande_teacher_arrested_for_sex_crimes

Link. ktvu. com/news/18053616/detail. html?rss=fran&psp=news

Today's update:
Link. insidebayarea. com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_11065618

I had Mr. Dietlin as both an Economics teacher, and a World History teacher.
I thought he was a wonderful teacher, but I, among many of his students felt he was a bit "perverted" if you will.
I had actually spoken to an administrator about a specific incident that happened between him and I which was not only uncomfortable, but very inappropriate. Several of my peers knew about it as well. Nothing was done however, and I am not in the least bit surprised at this.
In my opinion, it was just a matter of time. Many people through the years have found Dietlin to be "creepy" including my mother!
All I can say is that I am happy that he was finally caught, and will be punished for his actions.
Saves a lot of teenage girls from his "wandering eyes"

Link


[December 10, 2008]


Teacher declines to enter plea in online seduction case

REDWOOD CITY, Dec 10, 2008 (San Mateo County Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --

A Petaluma high school teacher arrested on suspicion of trying to seduce a fictional girl on a MySpace page appeared Tuesday in San Mateo County Superior Court, where he was expected to enter a plea to four felony charges that could net him up to five years in prison.

But Scott Eugene Dietlin, 35, looking despondent, declined to enter a plea to charges related to assertions that he traveled to the Peninsula for a sexual encounter arranged online with a make-believe minor. A new hearing was scheduled for Dec. 23.

The fictional girl, named "Jackie," first sprung to life as the creation of two high school students from Burlingame who created a fake MySpace page as a joke for their friends, authorities said.

Their Web page, which featured a photo they'd found online of a girl under age 18, attracted the attention of Dietlin, who is accused of sending the boys a photo featuring his face and his naked torso, according to the District Attorney's Office.

The students notified Burlingame police, who launched a weeklong investigation culminating in Dietlin's arrest in San Mateo last month.

While the incident generated headlines on the Peninsula, Dietlin's arrest shocked and dismayed many in Petaluma, according to several students at Casa Grande High School who drove two hours south to cover Dietlin's arraignment for the student newspaper.

"A lot of people are very upset" by the arrest, said Linnea Grayson,
17, co-editor of the Gaucho Gazette.
Grayson described Dietlin, who taught her Advanced Placement course in economics, as a "lively" and "witty" teacher and said his "scruffy and tired" appearance in court seemed out of character.

"It must have been really embarrassing for him to see students from his class," she added.
"I knew that I would be kind of disturbed by (coming to the arraignment,)" said Eliza Kritz, 17, one of several student journalists contributing to the two-page spread devoted to the controversy for the high school paper. "But we wanted to come anyway because we thought it would be important."

Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said he was dismayed by the case and "stunned" that online predators continue to stumble into law enforcement stings, despite the widespread publicity surrounding police surveillance of social networking sites.

"The predilection of these predators is so strong that despite the fact these defendants know that police monitor these Web sites, they will reach out on the computer to someone they've never met and don't know for sexual purposes," he said. "It's amazing. It really does amaze me."

Dietlin remains in custody in lieu of $700,000 bail.
Staff writer Aaron Kinney contributed to this story. Reach Michael Manekin at 650-348-4331 or at mmanekin@bayareanewsgroup.com.