CHICAGO — In a disturbing case of online exploitation, a suburban musician has pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge. Aaron Austin Jones, 26, of Bloomingdale, admitted to enticing underage girls to produce sexually explicit videos of themselves.
Jones faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years. U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee conditionally accepted the guilty plea and set sentencing for May 3, 2019, at 1:30 p.m.
The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and James M. Gibbons, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Bloomingdale Police Department provided assistance in the investigation.
Jones is a musician with a significant following on social media, including Facebook and YouTube. His online music videos have been viewed millions of times. According to the plea agreement, Jones chatted with six underage girls on Facebook and enticed them to produce pornographic videos of themselves and send them to him.
Jones told some of his victims to send him the videos as a way to “prove” that they were his biggest fans, the plea agreement states. He also told some of his victims that the videos were part of a modeling opportunity, and that he could assist them in gaining followers on the social media site Instagram, the plea agreement states.
Furthermore, Jones admitted that he used Facebook on approximately 30 other occasions to attempt to persuade minor girls to send him sexually explicit videos and photographs.
If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to call the ICE Tip Line at 1-866-DHS2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678. The hotlines are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Sex CrimesSex CrimesSex CrimesSex Crimes