The Petaluma high school teacher arrested after allegedly traveling to San Mateo for sex with whom he thought was a 15-year-old girl he met on MySpace delayed pleas yesterday to four felony charges.

Scott Eugene Dietlin, 34, appeared in court for arraignment but his defense attorney asked for more time to evaluate evidence. Dietlin, who had his initial $550,000 bail hiked to $700,000 at the last court appearance, remains in custody and returns to court Dec. 23.

Dietlin is charged with four felonies, including arranging to meet a minor with a sexual intent. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and registration as a sex offender.

Dietlin reportedly met “Jackie,” a fictional teen girl and exchanged e-mails and a photo before arranging a date in November at which he was met not by his pen pal but Burlingame police.

Two Burlingame teen boys created the person on MySpace.com as a joke with friends — even using a photo of another friend to complete the story — and unexpectedly caught Dietlin in April after he began contacting who he thought was “Jackie,” according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Dietlin reportedly had very sexually explicit conversations via instant messaging or text messages but went quiet for several months before starting up again in November.

Dietlin sent a photograph of his upper body and indicated he wanted to be intimate, according to authorities.

At that point, the boys contacted the Burlingame police who continued the contact with Dietlin.

Dietlin, a history and economics teacher at Casa Grande High School, was actually set to meet the girl the previous weekend but had to cancel at the last minute. Instead, the rendezvous was set for Saturday morning and Dietlin was arrested soon after.

Burlingame police also searched Dietlin’s car and Petaluma residence where they reported finding condoms, his computer and cell phone. The equipment is being analyzed and Dietlin could face more charges if it contains any pornographic images, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Michelle Durand can be reached by

e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.