A suburban Chicago singer who has hundreds of thousands of teenage followers online has been charged with two counts of production of child pornography.
Twenty-four-year-old Austin Jones of Bloomingdale appeared Tuesday in a Chicago federal court wearing orange jail clothes and ankle chains. He said he understood the charges. He’ll enter a plea later.
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Prosecutors say each count carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
A complaint containing more details of the allegations wasn’t immediately available.
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Jones’ videos garner millions of YouTube views. He’s released original music and covered the work of other musicians, including Justin Bieber.
He was arrested Monday and is being held at a Chicago federal jail. A bond hearing has been set for Wednesday. Prosecutors told the presiding magistrate judge they’ll oppose Jones’ release.
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