YouTube star Austin Jones was arrested at an airport in Chicago on child pornography charges.
Jones, who has amassed more than 500,000 subscribers for his a capella music covers, has been charged with two counts of production of child pornography.
Jones has been accused of using digital mediums such as Facebook and iMessage to solicit sexually explicit videos from teenaged girls, pressuring them to “prove” that they were his biggest fans. His reported victims were around 14 years old.
According to Chicago Sun-Times, which was the first to report the news, Jones is currently being held in federal custody. The 24-year-old singer is expected to appear in court for a detention hearing on Wednesday.
He was brought on Tuesday, where federal prosecutors said they would oppose the release of the singer as he is a “risk to the community and there’s a danger he’ll flee”.
If convicted, Jones would face a minimum 15-year prison sentence.
Source : Gulf News