A 34-year-old Haddonfield, New Jersey resident, John Michael Musbach, has been handed a 78-month federal prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release. This sentencing comes after Musbach engaged in online exchanges of explicit videos and images with a 13-year-old girl from New York. He then attempted to hire a hitman through a darknet website, offering $20,000 in Bitcoin to have the girl killed.

Musbach's illicit communication with the minor began in 2015. The girl's parents discovered the inappropriate exchanges and alerted New York authorities. Musbach was subsequently arrested in March 2016 on child pornography charges. He pleaded guilty to child endangerment in October 2017, receiving a two-year suspended prison sentence and lifetime parole.

While his initial case was pending, in May 2016, Musbach contacted the administrator of a darknet murder-for-hire platform. He inquired about the girl's age as a potential target and was assured it wasn't an issue. Musbach then proceeded to pay the Bitcoin equivalent of $20,000 for the hit. Later, when pressed for an additional $5,000, Musbach attempted to cancel the contract and requested a refund. The website administrator, revealing the operation as a scam, threatened to expose Musbach to law enforcement.

Information regarding the plot's discovery remains undisclosed by federal prosecutors. However, during his 2020 indictment, prosecutors indicated that an informant provided the Department of Homeland Security with communication logs between Musbach and the fraudulent contract killing website.