Jerry Harris

Jerry Harris, one of the breakout stars of the Netflix docuseries "Cheer," was sentenced Wednesday to TK years in prison on federal charges involving child ...

He also told investigators that he had solicited and received nude pictures from 10 to 15 other minors and had oral and anal sex with a 15-year-old, the complaint said. The boy said he turned Harris down repeatedly until Harris offered to pay him. One of the boys told police that Harris solicited oral sex from him in a bathroom during a cheerleading event they both attended, according to a complaint. “I had to quit cheering at my old gym because people there disagreed with me and my family because of deciding to speak out," he said. He said Harris would ask for nude pictures from him and when the boy refused, Harris would become "pushy," the complaint said. Harris, who promoted himself as a "mentor who could be trusted," would pressure his victims and offer to pay them in exchange for sexual conduct and favors, prosecutors said.

Jerry Harris admitted soliciting sex from minors and pressuring young boys to send him nude photos and videos.

The FBI investigation into Harris was first reported by USA TODAY in September 2020, at a time when Harris' celebrity was growing. Charlie said he became so afraid of public restrooms after Harris pressured him for sex in one that he stopped eating at school so he wouldn't have to use the bathroom there. USA TODAY has since reported on pervasive child protection failures throughout the sport of competitive cheerleading, including how USASF delayed investigations and failed to prevent those accused or convicted of misconduct from working with young athletes. Sam said he and his brother decided to speak up after realizing Harris was abusing others. "Jerry Harris' guilt has been firmly established," said Sarah Klein, attorney for a Texas family that was the first to report allegations against Harris to authorities. USA TODAY agreed to withhold the family's last name because the boys are minors and alleging abuse. "And it cost us SO much." The family said it continued for more than a year. After a nearly seven-hour hearing, U.S. District Judge Manish Shah also sentenced Harris to eight years of supervised release following his term in prison. The lawyers submitted character reference letters and videos from more than 80 people, including Navarro College cheerleading coach Monica Aldama, other “Cheer” castmates and members of the broader cheerleading community. I do not deserve forgiveness, but I do pray that one day you might find it in your hearts." Harris also admitted to similar conduct involving other minors, though prosecutors agreed to dismiss those charges as part of the plea agreement.

22-year-old breakout star on Netflix's cheerleading show had pleaded guilty to crimes relating to child abuse images and soliciting sex from minors.

Harris was arrested in September 2020 on a charge of production of child sexual abuse images. These stemmed from incidents where Harris persuaded a 17-year-old to send him sexually explicit photographs for money, and a trip he took to Florida for the purpose of “engaging in illicit sexual conduct” with a 15-year-old. The second series of Cheer addressed the investigation into Harris, and dedicated an entire episode to the incidents, titled Jerry.

Jerry Harris, who starred in Netflix docuseries Cheer, sentenced to 12 years in prison for soliciting sex with minors and other sex-related crimes.

Harris is also the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit filed by the family of underage Texas twins that claims the Cheer subject befriended the boys in 2018 when they were 13 years old and requested them to send explicit photos. Harris was originally arrested and charged in September 2020 with one count of producing child pornography. UPDATED, 4:05 PM: Jerry Harris, who starred in Netflix’s Emmy-winning docuseries Cheer, was sentenced today to 12 years in federal prison for soliciting sex with minors and other sex-related crimes.

U.S. District Judge Manish Shah also ordered Wednesday that the sentence be followed by eight years of court-supervised release.

Shah told the 22-year-old Naperville man to consider the sentence an “expression of the seriousness of your crimes, tempered with some hope that all is not lost for you or for your victims.” U.S. District Judge Manish Shah also ordered Wednesday that the sentence be followed by eight years of court-supervised release. CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced Jerry Harris, a former star of the Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” to 12 years in prison for coercing teenage boys to send him obscene photos and videos of themselves and soliciting sex from minors at cheerleading competitions.

Harris, a Naperville native, pleaded guilty in February on charges of child pornography and traveling for illicit sex with minors.

Federal agents were tipped off by the mother of the victims, who found pornographic images and text messages with Harris on one of their phones. The boy told the mom that Harris had asked for the photos. In 2020, Harris, a breakout star, was indicted on charges of child pornography and soliciting minors for sex.

Harris, 22, of Naperville, Illinois, pleaded guilty in February to receiving child pornography and engaging in interstate travel for the purpose of engaging in ...

Harris' attorneys had sought a six-year sentence, followed by eight years of supervised release, arguing in court documents filed last month that he is "both victimizer and victim" after being sexually assaulted as a minor. Harris was accused in the complaint of also making similar requests to the boy's twin brother. Prosecutors sought a 15-year prison sentence, followed by 10 years of supervised release, arguing that he "preyed on the insecurity and youth of boys in the cheerleading community to abuse them."

Harris had pleaded guilty to charges of child pornography and traveling across state lines with the purpose of having sex with a child.

All I can do going forward is to try to do better and be a better person. I do not deserve forgiveness, but I do pray that one day you might find it in your hearts." He said: "It was a great privilege. They cited Harris's troubled childhood, stating he had a "warped" view of relationships as a result of him being sexually assaulted at age 13. He also admitted to exchanging sexual images with 10 to 15 children in three states, knowing they were underage, reports BBC News. At the time, he denied all of the charges against him.

Mr. Harris, who shot to reality-TV fame in the Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” had pleaded guilty to federal charges related to soliciting child sexual ...

(Mr. Harris befriended the boys when they were 13 and he was 19, USA Today reported.) The seven charges involve five minor boys. Judge Shah also ordered Mr. Harris to serve eight years of court-supervised release following his prison term. He had initially pleaded not guilty to all seven charges in December 2020. Mr. Harris’s lawyers had requested a six-year prison term, to be followed by eight years of supervised release, arguing that Mr. Harris had himself been sexually abused as a child in the world of competitive cheerleading and therefore had a “skewed version of what he understood to be appropriate relationships.” In a memo filed before the hearing, prosecutors had asked Judge Shah to sentence Mr. Harris to 15 years in prison, arguing that Mr. Harris took advantage of “his status as a competitive cheerleader, his social media persona, and eventually his celebrity and money, to persuade and entice his young victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct for him or with him.”

Harris pleaded guilty in February to federal charges of engaging in illegal sexual conduct and soliciting sexual photos with minors.

He reached a deal with prosecutors for guilty pleas in February 2022 – just over a year after he pleaded not guilty to seven charges brought against him in Chicago. Before the hearing, prosecutors filed a memo asking Judge Manish S. Shaw to sentence Harris to 15 years in prison. Harris was arrested in September 2020 for producing child pornography and soliciting sex and sexually explicit images from minors. A federal judge in Chicago sentenced Jerry Harris – star of the 2020 Netflix documentary series “Cheer” – to 12 years in prison on Wednesday after the 22-year-old cheerleader pleaded guilty to two to seven charges of sex crimes with a minor.

Harris pleaded guilty last year to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of traveling with the intention to engage in illegal sexual ...

Harris has been in custody at a federal detention center while awaiting trial. When the boys parents found his phone, the boy also revealed Harris had also initiated sexual encounters with him at cheerleading competitions, something another 13-year-old victim also accused Harris of. Twenty-two year old Harris has been sentenced for coercing teenage boys to send him explicit footage and photos of themselves, as well as soliciting sex from minors at different cheerleading competitions.

Harris pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge and a traveling for illicit sex with minors charge in February.

The minor also told investigators that Harris cornered him in a bathroom at a cheerleading competition and tried to solicit him for oral sex. Harris faced a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. Harris even attended the Academy Awards in 2020 as a personality for "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Harris pleaded guilty in February to a child pornography charge after persuading a minor to send him sexually explicit photographs in exchange for money. The minor refused, and Harris allegedly made the same request at another competition three months later. He will also spend eight years on court-supervised release.

A federal judge Wednesday sentenced Harris, a former star of the Netflix documentary series Cheer, to 12 years in prison for coercing teenage boys to send ...

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