A 38-year-old Kula man was convicted Monday by a Maui jury of first-degree electronic enticement of a child, in the first trial for that crime in Hawai'i.

Robert John McKnight Jr. faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

McKnight, also known by the online name "atropical knight," must register as a sex offender.

Circuit Judge Joel E. August will sentence McKnight Nov. 14. Bail remains at $20,000 pending sentencing.

McKnight was arrested July 6, 2006 when he showed up at Maui Airport to meet what he believed was a 15-year-old girl he had corresponded with online. The rendezvous for sex was arranged in an online chat room between June 13 and July 5, 2006 with agents of the Hawai'i Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force posing online as the teen from O'ahu.

"We're very pleased with this conviction. ... This prosecution exemplifies we are committed to vigorously prosecuting those individuals who prey on our children," state Attorney General Mark Bennett said in a written statement.