ONLINE CRAZE: British Mum Abandons Three Children To Marry Violent American Prisoner

A British mother is leaving her children behind to make a new life with a U.S. prisoner she met online.

Jennifer Butler, 29, is flying 5,000 miles from the UK to French Robertson Unit in Texas to marry Christopher Mosier, 23, leaving her three young kids who are all younger than 10.

She plans to move in with him when he is released on parole in September. Her children will stay with their dad, from whom she split in 2010.

'Some people might think I'm bonkers for falling in love with a prisoner. And not everyone will agree with our relationship,' Butler said. 'But Chris is a wonderful man. Sure, he made a few mistakes in the past, but everybody deserves a second chance.'

The single mother began writing to Mosier in July 2011 after catching his profile on the website writeaprisoner.com, which helps would-be pen pals write to inmates.

Mosier’s profile revealed he had been sentenced to 15 years in 2009 for burglary with deadly conduct and drugs convictions. 

He was a member of an armed gang that burgled a house and he had previous convictions for possessing cannabis.

Butler says she felt an immediate connection to him and was impressed by his honesty.

'I felt sorry for him being locked up, nobody to talk to except other prisoners. Of course, I didn't condone his crimes. But he was still a human being, and deserved to have a friend,' Butler said. 

'I was really intrigued by his profile. It was different to the rest. Most of the guys were posing with their tops off. But his was articulate and he was open about his crime.'

They started writing up to three times a week and their relationship deepened, but in June 2013 she suddenly stopped receiving his letters.

I felt really sad that I hadn't heard from him. That's when I realized my feelings for him ran a lot deeper. I no longer saw him as just a friend anymore,' Butler said.

'Then a month later I received a letter from him. He told me that the prison had been on lockdown so he had not been able to get stamps to write to me,' the smitten mom said. 

'I realized I was in love with him and that letter made me admit it to myself. I couldn't bear to lose him.'

Their relationship became more serious, and Butler even encouraged her three children — Tyler, 8, Tristan, 7, and Mia, 4 — to write to Mosier, too.

The jailbird frequently sent them letters back with drawings for his cell that they had made him.

The mom-of-three says she believes it's important for her children to get to know him, as she now plans to spend the rest of her life with him.

After saving from her monthly wages as a part-time sales assistant, Butler was able to afford a trip to visit Mosier in prison.

Her first visit was in October. But Mosier had been in a fight with another prisoner so had his visiting privileges taken away, meaning they had to speak through a glass screen.

'We weren't allowed to touch because he was a maximum security prisoner at the time,' said Butler. 

'We had a glass window between us and had to talk through a phone. When I saw him walking down the corridor I knew he was the man for me. We talked for four hours and it felt like I'd known him all my life.'

But their controversial relationship caused a huge rift within Jennifer's family, who feared she was putting her children in danger.

'I knew people wouldn't have a good thing to say because he is an inmate. If he was just a guy from America I'd met online it would be different,' Butler said.

'I've had people ask why I'm not worried for the safety of my children. That cut me deep. To think that because he's a criminal my children would be at risk hurt me. Chris is a brilliant man. He's not a dangerous criminal. He's learnt from his mistakes,' she said.

'Others ask why I'm with someone that I can't be with physically. Of course I get lonely but my heart is with him so deeply that I don't have a choice.'

Butler visited him twice in just four months. On her third visit in April, the couple got engaged. Mosier proposed by tying a piece of grey string around her finger while in the visitors' room.

The 29-year-old insists she will be reunited with her children once she is settled in the U.S.

'He held my hand and said how much I meant to him and he got emotional. He never usually does,' said Jennifer.

'He then said he wanted to make me happy and asked me to marry him. I just broke down. I said of course I would.'

Mosier is up for parole in September and the couple plan to marry when he is released.

Jennifer will leave her children with their dad, who supports her decision, and relocate to the US to start her new life.

'Leaving my children is not an easy thing to decide to do. But I want to get everything ready for them in America before they move, too,' she said. 

'I'm doing this for our future because I want us to be a family. I need to set up a life out there for us and I'll do whatever I can to get them over with us as soon as possible.'

She added, 'I am devoted to my children but they deserve a happy mum too. This relationship will be for me but the life I build is going to be for all of us.'

Butler says she believes her children are just as excited about the move as she is, and although they haven't met their future stepdad yet, she'd confident they'll make a happy family.

'My children are excited about eventually moving over there. As kids, they won't realize about me not being around until I'm actually gone. It's going to be hard saying goodbye, but I know I'll see them again soon,” she said. 

'It's fine because they know I'm going over there to find us a house and to sort out their schooling. The main thing is that they're excited to get to meet Chris.'

Butler concludes: 'I know he did a terrible crime but he's a changed man. He's going to make a wonderful husband and a brilliant stepdad to my children.'

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