An Australian geneticist has pleaded guilty to travelling to the United States to have sex with a six-year-old boy.

Michael Quinn, from Melbourne, was arrested on May 21 by special agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) when he arrived at a Los Angeles-area hotel to buy a six-year-old boy for sex.

Quinn, 33, who was travelling with teammates from the Melbourne Chargers who were to play in a rugby tournament in Nashville, pleaded guilty before US District Judge John F Walter.

“Mr Quinn travelled to the United States to have sex with a young child,” US Attorney Eileen M Decker said.

“Fortunately, law enforcement was able to ensure that no child was put in harm’s way and that Mr Quinn would face severe consequences for his conduct.”

The investigation began in May 2016 after undercover agents met Quinn on a social networking site that caters to individuals with a sexual interest in children, according to documents filed in the case.

Quinn went to the US to play rugby. Photo: Facebook

Quinn admitted during Thursday’s hearing that he told undercover agents he was travelling to LA and wanted to “meet up with a dad who shares his young ones.”

Specifically, Quinn told the agents, whom he believed were like-minded people, that he was hoping to meet “other pervs” in the US.

Quinn ultimately agreed to pay a human trafficker $250 to provide him with a young boy with whom he could engage in illicit sex.

Once Quinn arrived in LA, he was arrested after paying another undercover agent $260.

Quinn now faces between 10 and 13 years in a federal jail.

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 3.