Sheriff: Arkansas Football Coach and Wife Tried to Have Sex with ‘Child’ Who Was Undercover Detective

A former football coach and his wife from Conway, Arkansas, were accused Monday of trying to have sex with a child.

Benjamin Coney, 26, and Emily Brinley, 25, were arrested after they traveled from their residence to the northwest part of the state to meet with the child, WPDE reported Sunday, noting Benton County sheriff’s detectives took them into custody.

The pair allegedly used an encrypted app to make contact with the child and set up a meeting time. However, the person was an undercover officer.

“Documents said that the couple was arrested upon arriving at the meeting location in Benton County on Nov. 28,” 5News reported.

An image shows the couple on what appears to be their wedding day:

One of the messages on the app reportedly said, “I’m into some very f*****-up, sick taboos,” the WPDE article stated.

It is important to note that according to the Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center website, there are numerous dangers on the internet that can affect children:

Online grooming may be difficult to detect because it often occurs while a child is home and simply using the computer. Groomers often order children not to talk about their conduct. However, there may be signs that a child is being groomed by an online predator, including spending an increasing amount of time online, becoming secretive about their online conduct, switching screens or closing tabs or windows whenever a parent is close, using sexual language they would not be expected to know and becoming emotionally volatile.

Officials have charged the Arkansas couple with internet stalking of a child and conspiracy to commit rape.

Authorities set the couple’s bond at $200,000 and held them in the Benton County jail.

The WPDE report also noted that “Coney was the head coach of the Arkansas Punishers, a team in the Next Level Football Alliance, before being fired by the team Friday.”

In January 2022, a Louisiana man was caught after he allegedly traveled for an hour to meet and have sex with person he thought was a 14-year-old girl but turned out to be an undercover officer, according to Breitbart News.