(COLDWATER) - A Coldwater man has been arraigned on criminal sexual conduct charges.
Branch County District Court officials say 21 year old Jacob Herwarth is charged with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes.
Investigators say the alleged incidents happened on August 15, 2024 in Coldwater Township. Herwarth, who was 19 at the time the alleged incidents happened, engaged in elicit sexual activity with a 15 year old girl.
The girl told investigators she met Herwarth online, told him she was 15 and then agreed to hang out after he told her he was 19. Herwarth allegedly picked her up along with a friend, took them to Taco Bell, and then drove them to a horse ranch on East Colon Road.
The victim told investigators that the incident escalated when they were playing a game of truth or dare, which went from kissing to unwanted sexual contact, even though her friend says the victim refused.
The girls later provided photos of the location that matched the ranch, which the owner of identified as connected to Herwarth.
Herwarth is being held on a $150,000 bond with strict conditions, including no contact with the victim and her friend and no unsupervised contact with any child under 18.
Herwarth is scheduled to appear in court on June 16 for a Probable Cause Hearing and June 23 for a Preliminary Examination.