Portland, Ore. -- A Seattle-area man accused of taking a train to Portland last week to have sex with two boys was caught up in an undercover sting that began in an Internet chat room, according to federal court documents.

James E. Eggleston, 59, of Shoreline is facing one count of interstate travel with the intent to engage in sexual acts with a person under the age of 12.

An affidavit filed by Special Agent James L. Mooney of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in support of a criminal complaint against Eggleston revealed new details in the case.

According to the affidavit, Mooney first contacted a person with the screen name "jimmy2" in a chat room called "#baby&toddlerlove" on Feb. 10.

The two traded instant messages about having sex with children and eventually traded e-mail addresses. "Jimmy2" described himself as a patient care coordinator for "trauma/psych."

In one exchange, jimmy2 wrote "I have played with a few young ones over the years."

When asked whether he had done so recently, jimmy2 wrote "not now. I did play with a boy who lived next door to me in my apartment complex."

The two later set up a plan for "jimmy2" to travel to Portland and have sex with Mooney's two boys, ages 3 and 5, who were fictitious.

According to the affidavit, Mooney was able to subpoena records that linked Eggleston to the "jimmy2" screen name and e-mail addresses used to send messages to Mooney.

At some point, the affidavit said, Mooney was e-mailed child porn from the Washington man.

During the ongoing communications, the Washington man claimed to have had sex with a neighbor boy who had moved away, several boys in Hong Kong and a girl in Texas, the affidavit said.

On March 14, Eggleston took an Amtrak train to Portland and met Mooney at a restaurant in the northeast part of the city. After they walked back together to a nearby motel room rented by Eggleston, he was arrested as he opened the door to his room, the affidavit said.

Inside, authorities found sex toys as well as DVDs, children's toys and a bag of candy.

During an interview with investigators, Eggleston denied ever having sex with anyone under the age of 17. But he did admit to traveling to Portland to have sex with kids, the affidavit said.

In Seattle some of Eggleston's neighbors were shocked to hear the news while others were not so surprised.

Eggleston has lived in the same apartment complex for the last 12 years. Apartment manager Tom Keogh said he suspected nothing until he got a visit from the law last Friday.

"(There was) a knock at the door. Two people from homeland security (were) out there," he said.

Keogh said Eggleston chatted him up from time to time.

"(He'd) tell you a little bit about work, where he works at the trauma place down at Harborview," he said.

But next-door neighbor Barbra Cullison said she never felt easy around Eggleston.

"He tried to kind of lure them (Cullison's boys) over there a couple of times, it seemed like to me," she said. "And that was just really disturbing to me that he was that way, that my neighbor, that literally lives across the hall from me here was like that."