On January 15, 2025, Benjamin Coney and Emily Grace Brinley from Conway, Arkansas, were sentenced to a total of 378 months in prison without parole. They were found guilty of online enticement of a minor under federal law. The sentencing took place in the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville with Judge Timothy L. Brooks presiding.
The investigation began in November 2023 when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Benton County Sheriff’s Office targeted online predators seeking minors for sexual activity. Between November 19 and November 27, Coney and Brinley communicated with an undercover FBI officer posing as the mother of two young girls. They detailed their plans to abuse the children and arranged to travel from Conway to Bentonville for this purpose. Upon arrival at the meeting location, they were arrested by law enforcement officers who discovered sexual aides and lubricant in their vehicle.
In May 2024, a Grand Jury indicted both individuals in the Western District of Arkansas. Benjamin Coney pleaded guilty in September 2023 and received a sentence of 210 months imprisonment followed by 25 years of supervision. Emily Grace Brinley pleaded guilty in July 2023 and was sentenced to 168 months followed by 15 years of supervision.
U.S. Attorney Clay Fowlkes announced the sentences while Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyler Williams prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. It involves collaboration between federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, prosecute offenders exploiting children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood visit www.justice.gov/psc.