Austin Henry Jones (born December 12, 1992) is an American convicted

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...

and former musician who was active as a

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...

from 2007 to 2017, prior to his arrest for production of

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

in 2017 and conviction in 2019. In 2015, Jones apologized after a video of him teaching an underage girl to twerk surfaced, with many exposing him and/or calling him out. After accumulating around 540,000 subscribers and over 20 million video views, Jones became more widely known due to his arrest for

sexual misconduct Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, se ...

involving minors and his possession and production of child pornography. On February 6, 2019, his YouTube channel was terminated. On May 3, 2019, Jones was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography.

Career

Jones began releasing music in 2007 and started writing his own material in 2010. In 2014, he released an EP titled ''We'll Fall Together'', which ended up at number 12 on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

pop chart. In 2016, Jones released a full-length album titled ''Pitch Imperfect''. Jones also made videos of ''

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

'' covers of songs by various

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

bands, such as

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mi ...

's "

Welcome to the Black Parade "Welcome to the Black Parade" is a song from American rock band My Chemical Romance's third studio album, ''The Black Parade'' (2006). It was released on September 12, 2006, as the album's lead single, with the studio version available on the b ...

Panic! at the Disco Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their firs ...

's "

I Write Sins Not Tragedies "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" is a song by American rock band Panic! at the Disco, is the second single from their debut studio album, ''A Fever You Can't Sweat Out'' (2005), and was released in the United States as a digital download on January 1 ...

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

's "

Sugar, We're Goin Down "Sugar, We're Goin Down" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy. "Sugar, We're Goin Down" was released to US radio on April 4, 2005, as the lead single from their second album, ''From Under the Cork Tree'' (2005). Two different CD singles ...

" and

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots (stylized in Letter case, all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris ...

' entire ''

Blurryface ''Blurryface'' (stylized as ') is the fourth studio album by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots. It was released on May 17, 2015, through Fueled by Ramen. The album is primarily an alternative hip hop, electropop, indie pop, and reggae album ...

'' album.

Controversy and incarceration

On May 10, 2015, the music website PupFresh reported that Jones had contacted multiple underage female fans online, each time persuading the girl to twerk on video for him and also giving her directions on how to perform the act while being recorded. A

Change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...

petition started by an anonymous 15-year-old girl to revoke his planned participation in the upcoming

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

surfacing in light of these 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 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. On June 9, 2017, a United States Magistrate Judge signed a search warrant for Jones' 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 Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop, ...

by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Homeland Security Investigations on two counts of producing

(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 persuaded an underage female fan to make sexually explicit videos of herself, according to his directions. At a June 15 court hearing, Jones was released from federal custody to

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

in his mother's custody after posting a $100,000 bond, but was ordered to abstain from using the Internet while he awaited trial. He pleaded guilty to a single count of "receipt of child pornography" on February 1, 2019, and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on May 3, 2019. 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. On May 14, 2019, a YouTube video was released by YouTuber deefizzy citing evidence implicating

Kevin Lyman Kevin Lyman is the founder and operator of thKevin Lyman Group formerly known as 4Fini, Inc., a live event production company and brand strategy firm. His most notable live production is the live music festival series Vans Warped Tour, which attrac ...

(founder of

), Leslie West (owner of

The Rave The Rave/Eagles Club (commonly known as simply The Rave, formerly known as the Eagles Club and Central Park Athletic Club and Entertainment Center or commonly Central Park Ballroom) is a concert venue and landmark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Divi ...

in Wisconsin) and Bryan Stars in covering up Jones' behavior and actions. As of 2022 he was imprisoned at FCI Loretto under register number 52069-424. His scheduled release date was listed as 2027-12-31.

Discography

*''Out of Character'' (2010) *''From Under the Covers'' (2011) *''Out of Character 2.0'' (2012) *''We'll Fall Together'' (2013) *''Pitch Imperfect'' (2016)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Austin (musician) 1992 births Living people American criminals American male criminals American male pop singers American people convicted of child pornography offenses American prisoners and detainees American YouTubers Child abuse incidents and cases Criminals from Chicago Criminals from Illinois Musicians from Illinois People convicted of child pornography offenses People from Bloomingdale, Illinois Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government People from Chicago Pop punk musicians Sexual harassment in the United States YouTube channels launched in 2011 YouTube channels closed in 2019 YouTube controversies 21st-century American criminals

Career

Controversy and incarceration

Discography

See also

References

External links