CHICAGO _ Internet pop artist Austin Jones faces at least five years in federal prison after pleading guilty Friday to coercing six underage female fans to send him sexually explicit videos and attempting to do the same with as many as 30 other victims.
Jones, 26, from the west Chicago suburb Bloomingdale, entered the plea to one count of child pornography during a hearing before U.S. District Judge John Lee. Prosecutors asked that he be taken immediately into custody until he's sentenced, but the judge said he would allow Jones to remain free on bond so he can continue to seek psychiatric counseling.
Jones' lawyer said his client has only recently begun dealing with traumatic events in his life _ including suffering sexual abuse himself at the hands of a close relative and the sudden death of his younger brother.
Jones' original songs and covers of popular teen artists have earned him a huge online following. His YouTube channel has more than 500,000 subscribers, and some of his videos have received more than 1 million views.
Jones, dressed in a black suit, kept his hands clasped in front of him during the hearing and answered in a soft voice when the judge asked him if he understood his rights.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Neff Welsh said Jones faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years. Sentencing was set for May 3.
Jones admitted in a 27-page plea agreement that he had online conversations with six 14- and 15-year-old girls from 2010 to 2017. In the conversations_which took place over Facebook messenger and Apple chat_Jones encouraged the girls to send him sexually explicit videos of themselves, including dozens of images of them performing graphic sexual acts, according to the plea agreement.
In many instances, Jones told the girls he had "modeling opportunities" for them or that he wanted them to prove they were his "biggest fan," according to the plea agreement. He also instructed several girls to "talk about their age" while they performed sex acts for him.
In 2016, Jones told one 14-year-old girl in a Facebook chat that she was "so lucky" to have his attention. He then told her to remove her underwear, prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint filed in 2017. "I'm just trying to help you!" Jones wrote, according to the complaint. "I know you're trying your hardest to prove you're my biggest fan. And I don't want to have to find someone else."
Jones' plea agreement made clear that many of the girls were hesitant as Jones asked them to perform increasingly explicit dances. One said she "might have to finish tomorrow" because she had to be up early for school. Another told him she'd resorted to "cutting" herself over the ordeal, according to the plea.
Jones was arrested on the federal charges two years after being caught up in a social media firestorm over accusations that he had young fans send him inappropriate videos of themselves "twerking," a suggestive dance move made famous by pop star Miley Cyrus.
After Jones was blasted online, he posted a lengthy YouTube video apologizing to the girls he'd asked to send videos, although he claimed the videos never crossed any sexual lines.
"I shouldn't have asked you to do that ... it was foolish of me," Jones said in the 16-minute video posted in June 2015. "But there were never any nudes, never any physical contact. It never happened."
