An Australian man who used the internet to lure a US teenager into a sexual relationship, including taking her to Las Vegas for New Year's Eve, has avoided a jail sentence.
Rowan Thomson-Sapstead faced a maximum two-years' jail and $US250,000 ($A271,075) fine when he faced US District Judge Michael McShane in Eugene, Oregon on Tuesday, but the 31-year-old was sentenced to time already served.
Thomson-Sapstead had been locked up since his arrest in Canada on January 8 and deported back to Oregon where his 17-year-old victim lived.
He will have to register as a sex offender and will remain in US custody until he is deported to Australia.
In his plea agreement, Thomson-Sapstead admitted to using the internet to "engage in sexually explicit discussions and to request and receive nude pictures which would qualify as child pornography" under US federal law.
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According to prosecutors, Thomson-Sapstead was living in Canada and struck up an online relationship with the teenager via the internet chat site Kik in November last year.
The girl told authorities Thomson-Sapstead "was aware of her age and had told her it did not matter because it was 'just a number'."
On December 21, he travelled from Canada to her home town in Oregon. They stayed in hotels and for New Years they flew to Las Vegas where the girl consumed alcohol and had sex with him, authorities said.
Police became involved when the girl's stepmother reported on January 3 the girl was staying in a hotel with Thomson-Sapstead and was refusing to return home.
