Two jailed for planning meeting to abuse baby
West Mercia PoliceA man and woman have been jailed for planning a meeting where the man would abuse the woman's baby daughter.
Christopher Brownhill, 38, of Linley View Drive in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, met the woman through an online dating website in 2017.
Brownhill was jailed for 11 years at Shrewsbury Crown Court for arranging or facilitating a child sex offence, while the woman - who cannot be named to protect the child, but is also from Shropshire - was given six years for the same crime.
The woman no longer has contact with her daughter, and Brownhill never met either of them, according to West Mercia Police.
She sent Brownhill non-sexual pictures of her daughter, who was aged one at the time.
After speaking online, the pair agreed to meet in person with the woman promising to bring her daughter with her.
The pair never ended up meeting, but Brownhill continued to talk to the woman online and told her what he planned to do to her daughter if they ever did meet.
A police investigation was launched following intelligence given to officers, and Brownhill and the woman were arrested two years after they first started talking.
'Deeply disturbing'
They were found guilty earlier this year following a two-week trial, before being sentenced on Friday.
Both were given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and required to register on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
The also court heard how the investigation discovered Brownhill had communicated with another woman. They spoke about arranging to meet so Brownhill could sexually abuse the woman's one-year-old twin nieces.
In a statement after the case, West Mercia Police said: "While no in-person meeting took place, the planning and communication between Brownhill and the child's mother were deeply disturbing.
"Protecting children is our absolute priority, and we will relentlessly pursue those who seek to abuse or exploit them, whether online or in person."
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