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Former YouTube singer Austin Jones, who had a large teenage following, is scheduled to be sentenced in Chicago federal court for coercing six girls to send him sexually explicit videos.
Prosecutors are seeking an 11-year prison sentence for Austin Jones on Friday. The defense wants the minimum available five years.
The Chicago Tribune cites a government sentencing memorandum as saying the 26-year-old musician manipulated fans and "preyed on their youth ... and ... adoration of him." The filing included excerpts from his online conversations with the girls, ages 14 and 15.
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(Twitter)
Jones, of Bloomingdale, Illinois, was arrested in 2017. He pleaded guilty in February to child pornography.
A defense filing asks for leniency, saying Jones' life was "marred with abuse, pain, loss and death." It says he suffered sexual abuse as a child.
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In incidents in May 2017, and August 2016, the complaint alleges, he directed the girls how to perform sex acts, even telling them what to wear and say; he spoke about the videos as "try outs."
On several occasions, both victims expressed reservations about what they were doing, but Jones encouraged them to continue; Victim A told Jones repeatedly that she was only 14, the filing said. And Jones appeared to understand what they were doing was wrong, telling Victim B, "I seriously shouldn't be talking to you," according to the complaint.
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"I'm just trying to help you!" he allegedly wrote in an online chat with Victim B about his detailed directions, according to the complaint. "I know you're trying your hardest to prove you're my biggest fan. And I don't want to have to find someone else."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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