He Didn't Want a 13-Year-Old He Sexted to Testify Against Him in Court. So He Used Bitcoin to Hire a Hitman.

A New Jersey man hired a hitman over the Internet with Bitcoin because he wanted a 13-year-old killed. Now, he's sitting behind bars.

John Michael Musbach, 35, of Haddonfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to the crime in front of a U.S. District judge, according to the United States Attorney's Office in the District of New Jersey.

Musbach was 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 show 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, now being 14 years old, was too young and, when the service said that it was not, he paid approximately 40 bitcoin (or $20,000 at the time) for the hit.

When no murder was carried out, 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 was recently sentenced to 78 months in prison. He must also serve three years of supervised release and pay a $30,000 fine.