He Hired A Hitman To Kill A 14-Year-Old He Was Sexting. It Turned Out To Be A Scam And He's Headed To Prison.

A New Jersey man hired a hitman over the Internet because he wanted a 14-year-old killed. Now, he's facing up to a decade in prison.

John Michael Musbach, 31, of Haddonfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in front of a U.S. District judge this week, the United States Attorney's Office in the District of New Jersey announced this week.

Musbach is charged with one count of knowingly and intentionally using and causing another to use a facility of interstate and foreign commerce, that is the internet, with the intent that a murder be committed.

According to court documents, Musbach exchanged sexually explicit photos and videos with the teen in 2015, when the victim was 13 and living in New York.

The victim's parents found out about the inappropriate contact and called the police. After an investigation, police arrested Musbach on child pornography charges and they searched his residence in Galloway, New Jersey.

Court documents state that Musbach then tried to have the victim killed so they couldn't testify against him in court. According to court documents, communicated with the administrator of a murder-for-hire website, which operated on the dark net, multiple times from May 7, 2016, through May 20, 2016.

Court documents state that Musbach asked if the target being 14 years old was too young and, when the service said that it was not, he paid approximately 40 bitcoin (or $20,000) for the hit.

As time went on and no murder was made, Musbach contacted the administrator, who asked for $5,000 more, court documents state. Musbach then asked for a refund, and the administrator revealed that the website was a scam and threatened to contact police.

Musbach's sentencing is scheduled for June 13, 2023.