WATERLOO - A former Waterloo man has pleaded to reduced charges in connection with Internet discussions he had with someone he thought was a teenage girl two years ago.

Trial for Marc Lawerence Braniff, 27, was scheduled to begin Tuesday for felony enticement of a minor.

But Braniff opted to plead to attempted enticement, which is a misdemeanor and carries up to two years in prison.

Sentencing will be in May.

Authorities said Braniff, who briefly held a job as a police officer, had sexual conversations in an online chat room with someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl when he was living in Waterloo in February 2006.

The girl was actually a Black Hawk County sheriff's deputy working undercover, and Braniff was taken into custody when he went to a mall where he had arranged to meet the girl.

Braniff was hired by the Anamosa Police Department in October 2002 but never became a certified peace officer, according to the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. He now lives in Minnesota and works in construction, authorities said.

Contact Jeff Reinitz

at (319) 291-1578

or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.