Former YouTuber Austin Jones has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on a child pornography charge. In February earlier this year, the YouTube singer with a large teenage fan following had pleaded guilty for forcing fans to send him nudes. Austin had forced six minor girls, as young as 14, to send him sexually explicit pictures and videos. The 26-year-old from Bloomingdale in Illinois had also coerced girls on about 30 other occasions to send him sexual videos and pictures even after knowing they were underage. He told them to send videos and photos of their body parts using Facebook's messaging feature. Jones became famous after his A cappella covers of pop songs. He had told one underage girl to prove she was his 'biggest fan' by sending him sexual videos. Spider-Man Window Washer Takes Sexually Explicit Videos of Kids; Sentenced 105 Years in Jail For Child Pornography.

In 2017, the popular YouTuber was arrested and charged with production of child pornography after rumours of his inappropriate behaviour with fans surfaced online. In 2015, several girls had published personal accounts about Jones' inappropriate behaviour towards them. Many had said he asked for their twerking videos making them feel uncomfortable. Following the allegations, 9,000 people signed a petition against him which resulted in him being taken off from the lineup at the Warped Tour. Child Pornography Racket Busted by Kerala Police; 12 Arrested.

According to prosecutors, he also told some of his victims that the videos were for a modelling opportunity that could help them add followers on social media. According to Jones' plea agreement, he received sexually explicit videos from several girls in 2016 and 2017. Following his guilty plea, YouTube terminated his account. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent-in-Charge James Gibbons said in a statement, "Today's sentencing of Austin Jones represents a major step towards justice for the young victims whom he manipulated and exploited."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 04, 2019 09:09 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).