BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A Portland man was arrested this weekend when he came to a Whatcom County hotel with the intention of sexually molesting a young girl.
According to the Department of Justice, 44-year-old Dirk Tichgelaar used an internet chat platform to communicate about sexual abuse of children.
The DOJ says he repeatedly sought out an undercover agent who was posing as the father of a young girl and eventually proposed traveling so he could sexually molest her.
The agent arrested him when the two entered a hotel room in Whatcom County Saturday and he was charged Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle with enticement of a minor.