Man Indicted For Allegedly Trying to Hire Dark Web Hitman To Kill 14-Year-Old Child
KEY POINTS
He paid 40 bitcoin, or approximately $20,000 at that time, for the attempted hit
Musbach pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in 2017
A Camden County, New Jersey man who was arrested in 2016 on child pornography charges has been indicted after he allegedly tried to hire a hitman from the dark web to kill a 14-year-old child.
According to a statement released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday, 31-year-old John Michael Musbach of Haddonfield was indicted on one count of murder-for-hire.
In 2016, Musbach allegedly attempted to solicit the services of a murder-for-hire website on the dark net to kill a 14-year-old, the DOJ said citing court documents.
Updated 2 hours ago
What to Know
A New Jersey man who was convicted on child porn charges is accused of paying $20,000 in bitcoin to hire a hitman to murder his 14-year-old victim.
John Michael Musbach, 31, of Haddonfield, was indicted Wednesday and will be scheduled for an arraignment at a later date.
Musbach is charged with use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
A New Jersey man who was convicted on child porn charges is accused of paying $20,000 in bitcoin to hire a hitman to murder his 14-year-old victim.
N.J. man paid $20K in bitcoin to have hitman kill child porn victim, feds say
Updated 9:00 PM;
A Camden County man, who admitted to exchanging sexually explicit images with a child, is accused of paying $20,000 in bitcoin to have his 14-year-old victim murdered, prosecutors said Wednesday.
John Michael Musbach, 31, of Haddonfield, was indicted on a federal murder-for-hire charge, New Jersey Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced. The alleged plot stemmed from a child pornography-related case that began with local charges in Atlantic County.
Musbach pleaded guilty in 2017 to endangering the welfare of a child by sexual contact after an investigation revealed he used an online chat program to request and receive sexually explicit videos and photographs of the minor in 2015, according to prosecutors. He also sent the minor explicit images of himself, authorities said.
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Arriving officers found a 77-year-old woman dead at the scene. They say the driver of the vehicle, 56-year-old Michael Ortiz of Atlantic City, stayed at the scene and he was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center-City Division with non-life threatening injuries.
According to police,
An initial investigation by conducted by Officer Eric Knuttel of the Accident Investigations Section revealed the pedestrian was crossing Route 40 in the left lane. It is believed that she was going to attempt to climb over the concrete median barrier to cross the roadway when she was struck.
Next of kin has not been located. The cause of the crash is under investigation with assistance from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
A man from Camden County, who formerly lived in Galloway, who has been under investigation by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office for child pornography-related offenses was indicted Wednesday for allegedly paying $20,000 in bitcoin to have a 14-year-old victim murdered.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig says 31-year-old John Michael Musbach of Haddonfield was charged with one count of murder-for-hire and will be scheduled for an arraignment at a later date.
Honig s office says in the summer of 2015, Musbach began communicating via an internet chat website with his victim, who was 13-years-old at the time. Musbach began using those chats to request and receive sexually explicit videos and photographs of that child and to send to that child sexually explicit videos and photographs of himself.