A registered sex offender has pleaded guilty to luring a 12-year-old girl into sexual encounters and attempting to have her killed to prevent her from testifying.
PEOPLE reported that Chandler J. Cardente, 30, admitted to three felony charges including enticement of a minor and interstate murder-for-hire. He pleaded guilty in federal court on March 20 and was sentenced this week to 35 years in federal prison.
Cardente met the 12-year-old in 2021 while posing as a 17-year-old on a messaging app, PEOPLE reported.
After several months of online communication, Cardente met the girl near her middle school and drove her to various locations in Rhode Island, where he engaged in sexual contact with her multiple times.
Following his arrest and detention, Cardente attempted to hire a hitman, who was actually an undercover police officer, to murder the girl, PEOPLE reported.
"A witness" who needed "to end up dead," Cardente said, offering $200 in cash and $1,500 worth of tattoo equipment in exchange.
Before this case, Cardente was already a registered sex offender after pleading no contest to molesting a 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl in 2014, PEOPLE reported.
Cardente's release was expected no earlier than 2056.
