WOODLAND, WASH. -- A Portland couple is facing federal charges after authorities said they intended to trade marijuana for an opportunity to sexually abuse a 5-year-old child.

Christopher Dudley, 26, and Rhea Hamm, 22, of Portland, traveled to Woodland, Wash., with the intent to abuse and photograph the abuse of a child, according to authorities.

Authorities said Dudley chatted online with an undercover officer who posed as the child's father on an Internet Relay Chat channel. An officer called Dudley on the telephone Monday to arrange the meeting at a hotel, officials said.

Dudley and Hamm were arrested after their car was pulled over in Woodland on Monday afternoon.

Authorities said they found 4.7 grams of marijuana, a pipe, a digital camera and a sex toy in Dudley’s car. In an interview with officers, police said Dudley admitted to having a sexual preference for 3 to 9-year-old girls and said he had sexually abused a 7-year-old in the past.

“This case shows the extraordinary lengths some adults will go to sexually exploit innocent children,” said Mike McCool, deputy special agent in charge of the Immigtration and Customs Enforcement office of investigations that oversees Oregon.

The maximum penalty for crossing a state line with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a person under the age of 12 is life in prison.

Portland Couple Arrested In Child Sex Abuse Sting