YouTube star Austin Jones gets 10 years in prison on child porn charge

SHARE YouTube star Austin Jones gets 10 years in prison on child porn charge
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Austin Jones | Twitter account

Former YouTube star Austin Jones was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday, three months after he pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography.

U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee handed down the sentence at the conclusion of a three-hour hearing that featured more than an hour of often tearful statements given by several of Jones’ victims and members of their families.

Jones, of west suburban Bloomingdale, was arrested at O’Hare Airport in June 2017 as he returned to the United States from a tour in Poland.

At his plea hearing last February, Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Welsh laid out, in graphic detail, how Jones solicited lewd photos and videos from 14-and 15-year-old girls — who were fans of his music — between August 2016 and May 2017 through Facebook Messenger.

On several occasions, Jones told the girls that they he was giving them a “modeling opportunity” that required them to strip and show him their breasts, genitals, buttocks and anus.

Six girls, all 14 or 15 at the time, sent Jones 66 lewd photos and videos at his behest and instruction. The videos and photos sent to him were deleted after he received them and federal authorities determined they were not shared elsewhere, though Jones tried to solicit lewd photos and videos from approximately 30 other girls before he was arrested.

One of Jones’ victims — identified only as “Victim A” — addressed the court and told Lee that, after sending Jones the explicit images and photos, she “went to bed feeling sick and I didn’t know why. I felt as though I had just given my body up for sale.”

At least three of the girls Jones interacted with either hurt themselves or tried to commit suicide after sending him images or videos. The father of one of the girls who tried to take her own life told Lee that “there is one thing, one feeling, one moment no one should ever feel.”

“The feeling when you wake up after not sleeping for days, when you’re not sure if you’re going to find your child dead,” he said through tears.

Jones himself was sexually abused by his father between the ages of 6 and 10 and his older sister died when he was a young child. Jones’ unfortunate familiarity with sexual abuse should have been a reason for him not to victimize others, Lee said.

“You of all people should know the tremendous harm that you were causing these girls that you targeted and preyed upon when you were doing it,” he said.

Lee scheduled a hearing for Monday afternoon to determine when Jones would be taken into custody. Arguing that he still presents a danger to others and himself — he previously expressed his own suicidal ideations — Welsh asked he be taken into custody immediately. Jones’ attorney, Terrence Lefevour, said the singer hasn’t had those thoughts since he entered therapy after his arrest two years ago.

The mother of one of the victims also addressed the court, telling Jones that she was “sorry to hear that others have hurt you, Austin.”

“God always forgives and we forgive you as well,” she added.

Jones — who broke down in tears no fewer than four times over the course of the hearing — also gave a statement before the sentence was handed down. Before reading his apology, he asked Lee if he would be permitted to turn around to face his victims and their families as he apologized, but Welsh told Lee that they wanted Jones to only face the judge.

“I placed a burden on you that you never asked for and never deserved,” Jones said. “My actions undervalued you as a human being and I’m so regretful I made you feel that way. That is not your value as a person. You are worth so much more and I hope you know that.”

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