A popular YouTube star was arrested on Monday night on child pornography charges, E! News reports.
Austin Jones, 24, was charged with two counts of production of child pornography. Over the years, Jones has accumulated more than 500,000 subscribers on YouTube for his acapella covers of pop music.
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He was arrested at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, and will appear in court for his bond hearing on Wednesday. He will remain in federal custody until his hearing because, according to prosecutors, the singer is a “risk to the community and there’s a danger he’ll flee.”
If he is convicted of the crimes, he faces a minimum of 15 years in prison.
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Jones allegedly pressured girls to send him sexually explicit videos, knowing that they were only 14 or 15 years old.
This is not the first controversy the Illinois native has faced. In 2015, Jones issued an apology over allegations he lied about his age to obtain “twerking” videos from underage girls.
“I’m embarrassed,” Jones wrote in a lengthy statement on Facebook. “I’d have conversations online with girls that would involve me asking them to create a video of themselves twerking. Sometimes I’d make videos of myself doing some twerk moves in return. Here’s the truth: I NEVER asked them to do anything more than send a twerking video. Nothing EVER went beyond that.”
He also said, “I’ve been in therapy, seeking help to discover why I communicated with my fans in a way that I have come to fully realize was not appropriate.”
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“To anyone that I have made feel uncomfortable or awkward, I am deeply sorry for the hurt and shame I may have caused you,” Jones continued. It is unclear if Jones was charged for this incident.
Prior to the internet personality’s arrest, he was on tour and recently performed in Poland.
