Monica Aldama, Austin Aldama.Photo:Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage, Monica Aldama/Instagram
Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage, Monica Aldama/Instagram
• Austin Aldama, 27, was charged with 10 counts of child pornography, according to court records
• He is the son of Monica Aldama, star of the Netflix showCheer
•Aldama was released on bond without having to pay the $20,000 bond set per charge
William Austin Aldama, popularly known as Austin, was arrested on Thursday and charged with several counts of possession or intent to promote child pornography, the Navarro County Sheriff’s Department confirms to PEOPLE.
His bond was set at $20,000 for each of his charges, per court records. He was released on a personal recognizance bond, the sheriff’s department confirms to PEOPLE, which allows a defendant to be released without posting the bond amount under certain conditions.
Austin Aldama.Navarro County Sheriff’s Office
Navarro County Sheriff’s Office
Austin’s mother Monica was the coach of the Navarro College cheer team featured on the Netflix series.
His arrest follows the2020 arrest of Jerry Harris, a cheerleader at the college, on child pornography charges. In 2022,Harris was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Monica had expressed her horror at Harris' arrest at the time, saying on theTamron Hallshow “it kind of took the breath out of me for a minute,”PEOPLEreported at the time.
She later toldTheEllenDeGenresShowthat she wasespecially heartbroken as a mother.
“As a parent, I was heartbroken for those affected and, you know, it was definitely one of the major challenges that we faced, just keeping ourselves in a good state of mind, mentally to get through that,” she said in 2022.
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It’s unclear if Monica has made a public statement since her son’s arrest. Her Instagram was updated as recently as Sunday evening, but did not have any mention of Austin’s arrest. Her representative was not available for comment when contacted on Monday.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
