Jerry Harris, who in early 2020 became a household name as the breakout star of Netflix’s reality series Cheer, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography and engaging in interstate travel for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 15 earlier this year.
Allegations against Harris first came to light in September 2020, when he was arrested on child pornography charges. In February, per USA Today, Harris pleaded guilty “to two charges for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old in the bathroom during a cheer competition and paying a 17-year-old to send him sexually explicit photos and videos via Snapchat.” Harris also admitted to engaging in similar behaviors with other minors, but those charges were dismissed as part of an overall plea agreement.
Charlie and Sam, twin brothers from Texas, were the first to speak out publicly against Harris’ crimes after they claim he began harassing them when they were just 13 years old and he was 19. Both brothers, who are now 16, told the court about the lasting impact of Harris’ abuse, and the anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder they’ve endured.
As Charlie explained: “I knew in my heart and soul that what Jerry was doing to me and Sam was bad, but everyone was telling me that is just the way Jerry is and that if I were to ever to report him that EVERYONE would turn their back on me because I would have ruined the life of such an amazing person that everyone loved.”
In early 2020, Cheer—which followed a competitive cheerleading squad from their home base of Navarro College, a junior college in tiny Corsicana, Texas, to the National Cheerleading Championship in Daytona Beach, Florida—premiered on Netflix. The six-episode reality series became a surprise hit for the streamer, and made instant stars of its cheerleaders, with Harris in particular becoming its breakout star. Following the show’s first season, Harris ended up hosting the Oscars red carpet for The Ellen DeGeneres Show and had inked deals with Starbucks, Walmart, and other major brands.
Harris issued a statement in which he said that “I regret my decisions and I am deeply sorry. 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.”
Attorneys for Harris pointed to their client’s own traumatic childhood—he himself was a victim of sexual abuse—in order to make a case for a lesser sentence. But in her sentencing memo, USA Today writes that while assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Guzman acknowledged the trauma of Harris’ upbringing, but wrote that prior abuse was “not a blank check to commit sex offenses against minors.” She further claimed that “Harris used his celebrity and wealth to continue his exploitation of children, expanding the tools available to him to manipulate them into gratifying his seemingly insatiable sexual desires.”
(Via USA Today)
