Gavin Plumb, 37, was obsessed with the TV host, amassing more than 10,000 images of her on his phone including deepfake pornography. He was caught after unwittingly communicating online with an undercover police officer based in the US, who flagged him to UK authorities.
The jury heard Plumb had previous convictions for attempted kidnap and false imprisonment. In 2006 he tried to force two female cabin crew members off a train with a fake gun and threatening note and in 2008 he attempted to tie up two teenage girls in a Woolworths stock room.
Chelmsford crown court heard the security guard had carefully planned how to abduct Willoughby from her home, take her to his residence in Harlow, Essex, and murder her in an abandoned building.
Plumb, who admitted he spent "99.9%" of his time on the internet, had denied the allegations and insisted the plot was "fantasy" and nothing more than "online chat".
Yesterday a jury found him guilty of three charges: soliciting murder, encouraging or assisting the commission of kidnap, and encouraging or assisting the commission of rape.
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