CBS Chicago reports that Jerry Harris, a former “Cheer” star, was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty for sex crimes involving minors. He will also be subject to court-supervised release for eight years.
Harris pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in February after he persuaded a minor to send him explicit photos in return for money. According to The Associated Press, Harris also pleaded guilty in February to a child pornography charge. This stemmed from a trip he made to Florida to “engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors.”
Prosecutors dropped five additional federal charges against Harris after a plea agreement.
Since September 2020, the 22-year old was taken into federal custody without bond.
He was born Jeremiah Harris. He rose to fame after he and his team were featured in Emmy-winning Docuseries “Cheer,” that follows the lives of the Navarro cheerleader squad. Harris was even invited to the Academy Awards 2020 as a personality on “The Ellen DeGeneres show.”
After a long FBI investigation, he was eventually arrested and charged with producing child pornography.
Federal complaint alleges Harris asked for “face” photos and “booty” images from a minor in 2018. This was despite the fact that Harris claimed he was only 13 years old. The minor claimed that he sent Harris numerous photos over the course of a year. Investigators were also informed by the minor that Harris had cornered him at a cheerleading competition’s bathroom and attempted to offer him oral sex.
Harris refused to grant the request, and the minor made the same request three months later at another competition. The complaint states that Harris blocked the minor from Snapchat in February 2020 one month after Cheer’s release on Netflix. He sent the minor a message saying “I’m sorry for the things I’ve done.” It’s not a good idea for us to be friends on snap.
Harris was also accused by a second minor, who is the twin of Harris, of asking for nude photos.
Investigators claimed Harris confessed to several allegations in the complaint. He asked for nude photos and tried to solicit oral sex at cheerleading events. Harris also received child pornography from between 10 and 15 children he knew to be underage.
Harris was also indicted for seven other counts, including soliciting sex from minor cheerleading competitors and working to get young boys send him photos and videos.
The two minors named in the federal complaint were revealed as twin cheerleaders Charlie (and Sam) during the current season of “Cheer.” Both of the twins said they were hesitant to speak up against Harris due to his popularity. However, Charlie stated that he was inspired by Joe Biden’s June 2020 interview and realized he needed to do something.
Charlie stated, “I want the world to see, give people a name to, when they think about Jerry Harris, what it was he did.”
Kristen, Charlie’s mother, said that it was more than a few times that this happened. “He was an extremely persistent predator who forced himself into my sons’ lives over a period of more than a year.
Sarah Klein, a lawyer representing victims, stated that Harris’ sentence “reflects both the severity of his crimes as well as the pain his victims will endure for the rest of their lives.”
Klein said that Charlie and Sam showed tremendous courage by sharing their hurt with the public and prosecutors. Their sacrifice will save children they have never met.
Harris was sentenced to a maximum of 50 years imprisonment. According to AP, the sentence sought by Harris’ attorneys was a six-year sentence.
Zoe Christen Jones contributed reporting.
