- Son of Monica Aldama from “Cheer” arrested and charged with alleged possession of child pornography.
- Austin Aldama released on bond with conditions, including random drug testing and refraining from viewing pornographic images.
- Arrest comes two years after Monica’s cheerleading co-star Jerry Harris was sentenced in a child pornography case, and shortly after Monica announced her retirement from cheerleading.
Additional Coverage:
The son of Monica Aldama, who appears in the Netflix show “Cheer,” has been arrested and charged with alleged possession of child pornography, according to a report from TMZ. Austin Aldama was booked in Nararro County, Texas on January 18 and is facing 10 counts of alleged possession of child pornography. He is expected to be indicted by a grand jury.
Austin was released on bond with certain conditions, including random drug testing, refraining from viewing pornographic images, and consenting to voluntary searches of his phone and computer. Prosecutors reportedly cited evidence of “several” videos with explicit file names involving children under the age of 10. Austin has not yet entered a plea as he has not been arraigned.
It’s important to note that Austin’s arrest comes two years after his mother’s cheerleading co-star, Jerry Harris, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in a child pornography case. Harris had denied the allegations, but later changed his plea to guilty on two counts of sexual misconduct. Following his prison term, he will be on court-supervised release for eight years.
This news about Austin also comes shortly after Monica announced her retirement from cheerleading. In a post on Instagram, she mentioned feeling a calling from God to pursue different opportunities and make changes in the world and the sport of cheerleading.
Monica herself has faced accusations in the past. She was accused in a lawsuit of covering up the alleged sexual assault of one of her cheerleaders. However, the case was dismissed, although she was suspended by USA Gymnastics for six months.