A New Jersey man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison after exchanging sexually explicit videos and images with a 13-year-old New York girl and later paying $20,000 in bitcoin to have her killed, eventually calling it off.
John Michael Musbach, 34, of Haddonfield, received his 78-month prison term Tuesday during a court hearing in Camden, according to federal prosecutors. He will also have to serve three years of supervised release after prison.
Musbach pleaded guilty in February to using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of a murder-for-hire plot.
NEW JERSEY MAN PAID HITMAN $20K IN BITCOIN TO KILL CHILD PORN VICTIM
Musbach was arrested on child pornography charges in March 2016 and pleaded guilty to child endangerment in October 2017. He received a two-year suspended prison sentence and was placed on lifetime parole.
Federal prosecutors have not said how the plot was uncovered. But during his indictment in 2020, prosecutors said an informant gave the Department of Homeland Security messages between Musbach and the fake website for contract killings.