Austin Henry Jones (born December 12, 1992)[3] is an American convicted child sex offender and former musician, who was active as a YouTuber from 2007 to 2017, prior to his conviction for receipt of child pornography in 2019.
He accumulated around 540,000 subscribers and over 20 million video views up to his arrest.[4][5] On February 6, 2019, all his social media accounts were permanently terminated.[6][7] On May 3, 2019, Jones was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography.[8]
In May 2015, a Change.org petition started by an anonymous 15-year-old girl to revoke his planned participation in the upcoming Vans Warped Tour surfacing in light of these[which?] events did not accumulate enough signatures, but Jones eventually withdrew from the tour and addressed the allegations in a video he uploaded to his channel, "Setting the Record Straight". He admitted that the allegations[which?] were correct and apologized for his actions, while denying that nudity was involved in any of the videos he recorded or any of the webcam conversations.[13][14]
On June 9, 2017, a United States Magistrate Judge signed a search warrant for Jones's residence in Bloomingdale, Illinois. On June 12, 2017, Homeland Security Investigations executed that search warrant. On the same day, Jones was arrested at O'Hare International Airport by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Homeland Security Investigations on two counts of producing child pornography (once in 2016 and once in 2017). Jones consented to a search of his phone and signed a written consent form. HSI transported Jones to its offices to conduct a videotaped interview and Jones signed a written Miranda waiver. In each case he allegedly persuaded an underage female fan to make sexually explicit videos of herself, according to his directions.[15] At a June 15 court hearing, Jones was released from federal custody to house arrest in his mother's custody after posting a $100,000 bond, but was ordered to abstain from using the Internet while he awaited trial.[16][17]
He pleaded guilty to a single count of "receipt of child pornography" on February 1, 2019,[18][19][20][21] and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on May 3, 2019.[22] After a court hearing on May 6, 2019, Jones was given permission to remain under house arrest until he reported to prison on June 28, 2019.[23] On May 14, 2019, a YouTube video was released by YouTuber deefizzy citing evidence implicating Kevin Lyman (founder of Vans Warped Tour), Leslie West (owner of The Rave in Wisconsin) and Bryan Stars in covering up Jones' behavior and actions.[24][25][26] As of 2024 he is imprisoned at FCI Loretto. His earliest possible release date is listed as December 31, 2027.[27] Under Illinois state law, he was also required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Discography
Out of Character (2010)
From Under the Covers (2011)
Out of Character 2.0 (2012)
We'll Fall Together (2013)
Pitch Imperfect (2016) written by Brigitte Guitart
