Former Arkansas minor league football coach, wife get combined 30 years for child sex crimes
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 3:34 am
https://www.nwahomepage.com/news/former ... ex-crimes/
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A former minor league football coach and his wife were sentenced in Fayetteville on Jan. 15 to a combined 30 years in federal prison for child sex crimes, according to a news release.
Benjamin Coney, 30, and Emily Grace Brinley, 26, were sentenced for online enticement of a minor in violation of federal law.
Federal court documents say in November 2023, the FBI and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office started an undercover investigation targeting online predators seeking minors for sexual activity.
Between November 19, 2023, to November 27, 2023, a couple later identified as Brinley and Coney messaged an undercover FBI officer posing as the mother of two girls.
In messages, the couple detailed their plans to abuse the girls and arranged to drive them from Conway to Bentonville to engage in sexual acts.
When the couple arrived at the meeting location, they were arrested by law enforcement. Officers found sexual aides and lubricant in the couple’s vehicle.
Coney and Brinley were indicted by a grand jury in the Western District of Arkansas in May 2024. Coney pleaded guilty in September 2024 and was sentenced to more than 17 years with 25 years of supervised release.
Brinley pleaded guilty in July 2024 and was sentenced to 14 years with 15 years of supervised release.
Coney was a coach for the Arkansas Punishers minor league football team in Little Rock. The team released a statement on X, saying Coney had been terminated as of Dec. 1, 2023.
The couple’s federal cases have come to a close, however, their state cases are ongoing.
Brinley has a pretrial hearing scheduled for February 6. Coney has a pretrial hearing set for January 21.