A Seattle attorney has been found guilty of soliciting sex from a minor and traveling to Portland to carry out the act.

William B. Knowles, 53, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Portland Friday of enticement and coercion of a minor and travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, according to a Department of Justice news release.

In June 2004, Knowles chatted with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl from Portland, but who was actually an undercover FBI agent, according to the release. In July of that year, Knowles flew to Portland and rented a car and a hotel room with a plan to have sex with the person he met online.

When he arrived at a train station to meet the girl, he was arrested by FBI agents.

Knowles faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a possible maximum sentence of 30 years.

"We hope this case sends a strong message to those who troll the Internet to prey on children for their own sexual gratification," U.S. Attorney Karin Immergut said in the news release.

"We will pursue such predators and hopefully catch them before they have a chance to ensnare a child."

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