A Melbourne man faces life in prison after flying to Los Angeles in the hopes of meeting 'other pervs' and having sex with young boys, US authorities say.

Michael John Quinn, 33, was locked up in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center on Tuesday after his arrest during a sting at an LA hotel on the weekend.

A trap was set for Quinn earlier this month after he allegedly had an online conversation on a social networking website for pedophiles with undercover agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations unit.

Quinn allegedly told agents he was travelling to Los Angeles and wanted to "meet up with a dad who shares his young ones".

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Quinn explained to the undercover agent he was hoping to meet "other pervs" in the US and agreed to pay a human trafficker $US250 ($A348) to provide him with a young boy with whom he could engage in illicit sex, authorities say.

Quinn allegedly went to the LA hotel on Saturday afternoon expecting to meet with three fellow child predators for a party, during which the men would engage in sex with boys provided by the sex trafficker.

Quinn went to the hotel room not realising the men inside were actually undercover HSI special agents and a short time later, another undercover agent, posing as the sex trafficker, arrived to collect payment for the children, authorities allege.

After Quinn allegedly handed the "sex trafficker" the money, law enforcement authorities entered the hotel room and took him into custody.

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Quinn was charged with attempted sex trafficking of a minor, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life without parole.

He was also charged with one count of travelling to the US for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

"As this case shows, children everywhere are vulnerable to such predators, including children right here in Los Angeles," United States Attorney Eileen Decker said.

"The internet has helped to enable the child sex tourism industry by making the world a smaller place but this case, and others like it prosecuted by my office, show that such international predators can and will be brought to justice."

Quinn is scheduled to appear in US Federal Court in LA on Friday.

News break – May 25