Charges against a New York State man caught by a vigilante predator group traveling to Warren to allegedly meet a juvenile female for sex had his charges bound over to the court of common pleas on Tuesday.

Judge Laura Bauer made the determination in the wake of a preliminary hearing at the Warren County Courthouse against Joshua A. Nowalk, 31, Otego, N.Y.

Nowalk faces charges of criminal attempt (unlawful contact with a minor), unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communication facility, disseminating sexual material to a minor and possession of a controlled substance.

Testimony was offered at the hearing by Efrain Perez, founder of the Erie Predator Catchers, and City of Warren Police Detective Tiffany Post.

Perez testified that he made a “decoy account” on Facebook and purported to be a 14-year-old female from Corry, Pa.

“He messaged here first,” Perez said, noting that EPC does not initiate contact with individuals.

He testified that the Nowalk’s discussion evolved to making plans to meet and talking about his feelings and included Nowalk sending photos of his penis and acknowledging the alleged girl’s age, emphasizing the need to keep that, per Perez, a “big secret.”

On cross examination, Perez said this is the EPC’s first foray into Warren County and that he had not testified in a similar criminal case before.

“At no time was there a minor on the other end of the exchanges?” Nowalk’s attorney, Elizabeth Feroniti, asked.

“Correct,” Perez said.

Post testified that the department was contacted by EPC one to two hours before Nowalk was allegedly set to arrive in Warren.

She said that law enforcement sent two additional messages to Nowalk confirming that he was still coming and then set up surveillance by the Quality Inn on the west end.

She testified law enforcement watched Nowalk go into the hotel and hotel room keys were subsequently seized.

Post detailed what was seized via search warrant – room keys, a bodysuit, a THC vape pen, a cell phone and a male enhancement pill.

During an interview after Nowalk was taken into custody, Post said he initially did not admit to coming to meet the alleged minor for sex but then admitted he did, questioning whether he would have been able to go through with it.

Feronti argued that two of the charges – unlawful contact with a minor and disseminating sexual material to a minor – should be dismissed because “we have no minor involved.”

Greene said the intent of that statute was not to permit sending explicit photos to minors and noted that law enforcement was involved later and suggested that would be an issue for a Court of Common Pleas judge to sort out.

A prima facia case is the burden of proof at a preliminary hearing — that it’s likely that a crime was committed and that a defendant likely committed those crimes. Bauer said that all of the charges would be found over to the Court of Common Pleas.