What did Benjamin Coney do? Arkansas football coach and wife arrested over setting up date with pre-pubescent child

Ex-Arkansas football coach Benjamin Coney and his wife have been taken into custody after allegedly trying to set up a s*xual relationship with a pre-pubescent child. Coney and his wife, Emily Brinley, were arrested on Monday, November 27, 2023. Both of them have been accused of stalking the minor on the internet.

Trigger warning: The article contains references to s*xual relations with a child. Readers' discretion is advised.

According to court documents, Coney and Brinley were talking to an undercover sheriff's detective who pretended to be a child. After the allegations came to light, Arkansas Punishers fired Coney, who was their head coach, on Friday.

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Former head coach of Arkansas Punishers, Benjamin Coney, and his wife, Emily Brinley, are currently being held on a bond of $200,000

A disturbing set of allegations have been raised against the ex-head coach of a minor-league football team, Benjamin Coney. Coney, along with his 25-year-old wife, allegedly tried having s*x with a minor. The couple was taken into custody on Monday, November 27, when they allegedly traveled to northwest Arkansas to meet the child.

According to an affidavit, an officer with the Benton County Sheriff's Office posed like an underaged child and spoke to the couple. After talking for a while, Coney and Brinley arranged the meet-up on Monday in Arkansas. The two parties, the couple and the undercover cop, were contacted through an encrypted app. The suspects had allegedly sent several disturbing messages. One read,

"I'm into some very f*****-up, sick taboos."

The affidavit further alleged Coney for telling the cop that his wife "likes them young." According to Coney, his wife allegedly said that she wanted to see him establish a s*xual relationship with children. During the arrest, authorities recovered several items in the couple's car. The list included two s*xual aids, cellphones, lube, and its receipt.

Despite Coney's claims that his wife was into children, Emily Brinley denied the allegations. According to her, she was never interested in kids and was just trying to be a "good wife" to Benjamin Coney. The affidavit further claimed that she didn't want to have any inappropriate relationship with children and just wanted Coney to be happy. Benjamin Coney claimed that he didn't think he would actually go to meet the "child."

She claimed that she was acting the way her husband asked her to. Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has reported the same. ABC15 News reported that the couple has been charged with internet stalking of a child and conspiracy to commit r*pe. As mentioned before, they are each held on a $200,000 bond.

The duo allegedly contacted the detective in disguise on an encrypted app. (Image via Dalton/X)

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Coney claimed that he changed his mind when they were in Bentonville on the way to northwest Arkansas

After the accusations were made against the couple, Arkansas Punishers fired their head coach, Benjamin Coney. The team posted an update about the situation on social media and said,

"We are aware of the situation involving Ben Coney and have terminated his employment with the team. We do not support or allow his actions at all in our organization."

The team further added:

"Ben is no longer associated with our organization in anyway."

The couple weren't formally charged when the allegations first came into the public eye. However, prosecutors confirmed that they would be. During the interrogation, Emily Brinley also told cops that her husband, Benjamin Coney, told her that the situation looked "sketchy," Still, they were too close to the meeting location in Arkansas.

Benjamin Coney claimed that he changed his mind when the couple was in Bentonville. However, the detective claimed that Coney called to confirm if the kids were still nude after taking a bath a few minutes before they reached the location. The affidavit further claimed that Coney told cops that his wife didn't refused to go to meet the detective, who they thought was an underaged child.

Both Coney and his wife have been accused of stalking a minor on the internet. (Image via @Nerdy_Addict/X)

According to the affidavit, Brinley mentioned that her husband once told her that if the couple had a girl child, he could establish a s*xual relationship with her. The ex-head coach also allegedly told the authorities that there was child s*x abuse content on his electronic devices. The couple's arrgnaiment has been scheduled for January 8, 2023, at Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren's court.

This case came into the limelight a few months after Matthew Galhouse, a softball coach from Florida, was arrested. Galhouse was accused of stalking and exploiting minor players. He was allegedly charged with s*xual battery of a victim aged between 12 and 18 years and s*xual activity with a teenager. A lot of other similar cases have taken place involving stalking minors.