Pair sought sex with 5-year-old girl, police say

PORTLAND – A Portland couple arranged to trade marijuana for the chance to have sex with a 5-year-old girl, the authorities said Tuesday.

Federal agents arrested Christopher Dudley, 27, and Rhea Hamm, 22, in Woodland, Wash., where they were to meet the girl – a fictitious character created by an agent who met Dudley in an Internet chat room.

Dudley and Hamm were charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a minor.

Special agents made the arrests as part of an undercover Internet sting designed to catch online sexual predators, said Lorie Dankers, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Senior Agent James Mooney conducted the sting last month in a chat room known to trade in images of young girls engaging in sex, according to court papers.