Australian rugby player will stand trial on child sex charges in the United States.

An Australian man has been indicted on child sex charges in Los Angeles, following a decision by a secret federal grand jury.

Michael Quinn will now front court charged with attempted child sex trafficking and travelling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, the former of which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, reports Nine News.

Quinn was arrested in Los Angeles on May 21, after police launched a sting operation that lured the 33-year-old to a hotel with the promise of sex with a six-year-old boy.

Images: Facebook.

It will be alleged that the Melbourne geneticist arrived at the 'party' with a camera, monopod and US$250 to pay the child's 'pimp'. According to The Age, he reportedly enjoyed a beer and Toy Story-themed cupcake while mingling with undercover agents posing as 'like-minded' men.

A special agent from Homeland Security had been engaging with Quinn via social media prior to his arrival in the US for a three-week rugby tour with the Melbourne Chargers.

Police allege that in those communications, the IVF clinic worker expressed a desire to "meet up with a dad who shares his young ones" and expressed a preference for "boys aged five to ten".

"Michael Quinn, also known as 'Mick', aka 'southof', aka 'inhere', knowingly travelled in interstate commerce and into the US from Australia to Los Angeles County, within the Central District of California, for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct ... namely, to engage in sexual acts with a boy approximately six years of age," the grand jury indictment states.

Quinn has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in downtown Los Angeles since his May arrest.