WATERLOO - The Iowa Supreme Court Friday sided with a West Des Moines man who had his conviction for enticement of a minor reduced to a lesser charge.

Eric Hansen, who was 23 at the time, was arrested in May 2006 after he arranged to meet someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl at the Wal-Mart in Cedar Falls. The girl turned out to be a Cedar Falls police officer.

Hansen was convicted of enticement, but he convinced the Iowa Court of Appeals in August 2007 to reduce his conviction to attempted enticement because there was no underage victim.

Supreme Court Justice Michael Streit agreed with Hansen in his written ruling.

"While Hansen had the requisite intent, he failed to lure or tempt away a minor or someone reasonably believed to be a minor," Streit wrote. "We doubt any of the Cedar Falls police officers were 'enticed away' from their offices to the Wal-Mart store because of Hansen's blandishments."

Supreme Court justices rejected the state's arguments that Hansen's motives for coming to Cedar Falls constituted enticement, despite the fact that there was no victim.

The argument was overly broad and potentially negated the differences between attempted enticement and actual enticement, Streit said.

Contact Josh Nelson at (319) 291-1565 or josh.nelson@wcfcourier.com.