Ronald Ilg, a former neonatal physician in Spokane, Wash., on Aug. 10 pleaded guilty to hiring a hit man on the dark web to assault one woman and kidnap and extort another, KXLY.com reported.
Mr. Ilg initially pleaded not guilty to eight federal charges, which included cyberstalking, attempted kidnapping and tampering with a witness. But at a sentencing hearing on Aug. 10, he pleaded guilty to two of the charges that related to making threats using interstate commerce.
"Your honor, I was a broken man," Mr. Ilg said in court, according to KXLY.com. "I was broken and I contacted different websites on the dark web to not only injure one of my partners, but also kidnap my wife."
The judge indicated there was an agreement between prosecutors and Mr. Ilg about the length of his prison sentence in exchange for his guilty plea, according to the report. The parties agreed a fair sentence was between five and eight years.
Mr. Ilg's sentencing is set for Nov. 9.