Washington , D.C. – Wei Chin, 37, a Chinese national living in Eldersburg , Maryland , pled guilty today before the Honorable Judge Henry H. Kennedy, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia , to one count of Traveling Interstate to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct with a Minor, announced U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor. At sentencing, Chin faces a maximum sentence of 30 years of imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, Chin faces a likely sentencing range of 46 to 57 months in prison.

According to the government’s evidence, at various times in 2007 and 2008, Metropolitan Police Department Detective Timothy Palchak posed undercover as a 14-year-old girl while using Yahoo’s Instant Messenger service. In this undercover capacity, Detective Palchak began chatting with the defendant and had multiple Instant Messenger conversations with him between June 2007 and February 2008.

On February 14, 2008 , the defendant, using the screen name “Wei Chi,” agreed to engage in sexual intercourse with the fictitious 14-year-old girl. The defendant stated, “we will go to a small hotel if u are ok with it.” When Detective Palchak asked the defendant if he would use condoms because she did not want “to get into any trouble,” the defendant responded, “sure! I got everything.” On February 15, 2008 , the defendant made arrangements to meet the fictitious 14-year-old girl that day at a location in Washington , D.C. , at 4:30 p.m.

The defendant subsequently drove from Maryland to this pre-arranged location. When he arrived, the defendant was stopped and placed under arrest. During a subsequent search of the car which he was driving, law enforcement officials recovered, among other things, a bag containing several condoms, two pairs of handcuffs, and two dildos.