A Texas court placed Austin Aldama, son of Netflix “Cheer” coach Monica Aldama, on 10 years of deferred-adjudication community supervision after he pleaded guilty to one of 10 counts of possessing child pornography, a third-degree felony. He waived his right to trial as part of the deal, which also requires him to register as a sex offender.
TMZ reported that Aldama must also serve 180 days in county jail, with the time served on weekends once per month. He will not be eligible for early release from community supervision until he has completed at least five years, according to TMZ. In Touch Weekly also reported the plea.
TMZ reported that the supervision terms also bar Aldama from bars and clubs, restrict him to certain city limits and prohibit him from associating with other criminals. He must agree to electronic monitoring if requested and complete an approved treatment plan.
How the Case Began in Navarro County
The case began with a grand jury indictment in Navarro County, Texas, in January 2024, according to TMZ. The NavCo Chronicle reported that Aldama was charged and taken into custody at the Navarro County Justice Center on Jan. 18, 2024. He was processed and released on personal bonds in connection with multiple charges of possessing child pornography with intent to distribute.
Prosecutors said at the time that their evidence included video file names describing children under age 10 engaged in sex acts, according to legal documents cited by TMZ. A court order obtained from Texas Courts states that the presiding court accepted and recorded the plea and found that the evidence submitted substantiated guilt, but chose to defer proceedings without entering a formal adjudication of guilt, instead placing him on deferred adjudication community supervision.
Texas Sex-Offender Registration
The Texas Department of Public Safety lists possession or promotion of child pornography under Section 43.26 of the Penal Code among offenses requiring sex-offender registration. The department’s listing identifies the offense category; the reported terms of Aldama’s plea also require him to register.
A Comparable Case From Elsewhere in Cheer World
Austin's case is distinct from, but inevitably draws comparison to, that of former “Cheer” cast member Jerry Harris, who was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison in July 2022 after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography and traveling with the intention to engage in illegal sexual conduct, according to NPR. A federal judge also ordered Harris to serve eight years of court-supervised release once his prison term ends, the same report noted.
Harris had been arrested in September 2020 on a charge of production of child pornography and was indicted on additional charges that December, per NPR's reporting. The two cases remain legally separate, with Harris facing federal charges and Austin facing state charges in Texas, but both involve men once connected to the Netflix docuseries that made Monica Aldama a household name.
Monica Aldama has not publicly commented on her son's arrest or guilty plea, based on the available reporting. She rose to national fame as the longtime coach featured on “Cheer.”
