
YouTube singer Austin Jones has been charged with using his social media handle to solicit explicit videos from two underage fans.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the 24-year-old was hit with two counts of production of child pornography in federal court this week after he was arrested on Monday.
Both counts carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
It is alleged that Jones, who has over 500,000 followers on YouTube, engaged in separate online conversations with two 14-year-old female fans and coerced them into sending sexually explicit videos and images.
In 2015, Jones was slammed online for encouraging fans to send him 'twerking' videos, forcing him to apologise in a video statement.
"I shouldn't have asked you to do that… it was foolish of me," Jones said in the video.
"But there were never any nudes, never any physical contact. It never happened."
Jones is currently being held in federal custody with another hearing scheduled for Thursday (US time).
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