London (CNN) A father has been found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in prison for plotting an acid attack on his 3-year-old son amid a custody battle with his ex-wife.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted unanimously by a jury Wednesday at Worcester Crown Court in the UK following a six-week trial, the court confirmed to CNN.

The jury, which deliberated for nine hours, convicted the man and five co-conspirators of plotting to spray sulfuric acid in the child's face with the intention to "burn, maim or disfigure."

Jurors were told that the father, 40, a taxi driver from Wolverhampton, central England, but originally from Afghanistan, enlisted the help of his co-conspirators in order to attack his son in a bid to gain increased custody by depicting the child's mother as incapable of providing adequate care, the UK's Press Association agency reported.

Police released this security camera image of suspects in the attack in the English city of Worcester.

The man's wife left him in 2016, taking their three children with her, the court was told.

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