The coach of a minor league football team in Arkansas and his wife have been arrested after they traveled from their home to northwest Arkansas to have sex with a pre-pubescent child.

Benjamin Coney, 26, was immediately fired from his job as headcoach of the Arkansas Punishers of the Next Level Football Alliance. Minor league football teams are not affiliated with teams in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, or any of several professional indoor football leagues.

Coney and his wife, 25-year-old Emily Brinley, arranged a meeting with who they thought was a child through an encrypted app, court documents said, but they were actually communicating with an undercover detective, KATV reported.

“I’m into some very f*****-up, sick taboos,” one of the messages Coney sent said.

The couple was arrested Monday when they traveled from their home in Conway to meet the child and have been charged with internet stalking of a child and conspiracy to commit rape. They being held on $200,000 bonds in Benton County.

Ben is no longer associated with our organization in anyway. pic.twitter.com/5KYzInj1jy

— Arkansas Punishers 💀 (@Arpunishersfb) December 1, 2023

Arkansas Punishers fired Coney on Friday, posting on Twitter.com that “Ben is no longer associated with our organization in anyway.”

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

Minor league football teams are made up of former high school, college, and professional players to allow them to continue to participate in the game while pursuing other activities. They are not made up of minors.

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[Featured image: Benjamin Coney and Emily Brinley/Benton County Sheriff’s Office]