Man faces charges in sex sting

A preliminary hearing for the highest-profile man arrested in a televised ?sex predator? sting in Petaluma last year screeched to a halt Monday when his attorney objected to the Internet chat logs police say incriminate the man.

Blair Berk, a Los Angeles attorney who has represented Hollywood stars Mel Gibson and Lindsay Lohan in criminal cases, offered the most vigorous defense to any of the 29 cases in Sonoma County courts stemming from the ?Dateline NBC? segment called ?To Catch a Predator? taped in Petaluma in August.

Her client, Maurice Wolin, 49, a cancer doctor from Piedmont, has pleaded not guilty to attempted lewd acts with a child. He is free on bail.

The preliminary hearing that began Monday is to determine whether there is enough evidence to require Wolin to stand trial.

Prosecutors began what is expected to be a two-day hearing with testimony from a Petaluma police detective who said Wolin arranged to meet a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl at an east Petaluma house for sex.

The girl was really a decoy working for a group called Perverted Justice, which works with police departments and the NBC show to catch men allegedly trying to have sex with minors they meet online.

Wolin?s attorney argued that chat logs showing instant-message conversations purported to be between a Perverted Justice worker and Wolin have been altered and cannot be authenticated. She has asked Judge Raima Ballinger to rule them inadmissible.

Further testimony is planned Monday afternoon.