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.
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.
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.