John Musbach has pleaded guilty to paying a man $20,000 in Bitcoin to kill a 14-year-old boy in an attempt to stop him from testifying about an exchange of explicit photos, prosecutors in New Jersey said.
After pleading guilty, he now faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of at least $250,000. Musbach admitted to the act Thursday in Camden federal court, being charged with “intentional use of a facility of interstate and foreign commerce, the Internet, with the intent to commit murder,” a press release from the District Attorney’s Office said. Federal for the District of New Jersey.
The defendant had been accused of exchanging lewd images and videos with a teenager, then 13 years old, who lived in New York, in the summer of 2015, he said. Daily News.
An investigation was launched after the boy’s parents learned of the inappropriate content and contacted the police. Musbach was arrested in March 2016 on child pornography charges and authorities executed a search warrant at his home in Galloway, NJ.
After his arrest, Musbach, 31, decided to kill the teen so he couldn’t testify in court, prosecutors said. Between May 7 and May 20, 2016, he “repeatedly communicated with the administrator of a hit-for-hire website,” according to the Justice Department press release.
“Musbach asked if a 14-year-old boy was too young to be killed, and upon hearing that age was not an issue, he paid approximately 40 bitcoins (about $20,000 at the time) for the hit,” the statement said. He then approached the portal administrator again several times, requesting an update.
“When pressed for an additional $5,000 to secure the hit, Musbach ultimately attempted to cancel and requested a refund of his $20,000,” according to the press release. “The website administrator later revealed that the portal was a scam and threatened to release Musbach’s information to law enforcement.”
In a similar case, the FBI this week arrested a Hispanic “Satan-worshipping neo-Nazi” on charges of child pornography and sexual exploitation in New York.
Last December it was announced that two New Jersey men were facing lengthy sentences on charges of producing child pornography and child sex trafficking. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) warned since 2020 of an increase in cases of child pornography due to the longer time spent by adults and children online.
If you are a victim or suspect that someone is being mistreated, especially if they are a minor or elderly person:
- Call 911 or 1.888.NYCWELL (1.888.692.9355).
- Text “WELL” to 65173.
- Review information at https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/es/
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