Former 'Cheer' star Jerry Harris sentenced to 12 years in prison for child porn

CHICAGO (TCD) -- Jerry Harris, the former fan favorite of the Netflix show "Cheer," was sentenced to 12 years in prison this week for child pornography-related chrages.

The Associated Press reports U.S. District Judge Manish Shah handed Harris the sentence on Wednesday, plus eight years of supervised release.

At his sentencing, Harris said, "I am deeply sorry for all the trauma my abuse has caused you. I pray deep down that your suffering comes to an end."

Harris was arrested in September 2020 for "enticing an underage boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself." According to the criminal complaint, Harris contacted a minor — referred to as Minor 1 in the court documents — on Snapchat in December 2018. The minor, who was 13 years old at the time, reportedly sent photos of his genitalia, and Harris in return reportedly sent pictures and videos of his penis and of himself masturbating.

On two occasions, Harris reportedly solicited oral sex from the minor at a cheer competition they both attended, but the boy refused.

Harris admitted to law enforcement officials that he asked the boy for explicit photos, and that continued until February 2020 when Harris blocked the minor on Snapchat because he didn't "think it's a good idea" that they communicate on the social media app.

The second victim, who is referred to as Minor 2 in the criminal complaint, is Minor 1's identical twin. According to the complaint, "Minor 2 stated that [Harris] was 'touchy' and did 'odd things' to him and his brother, Minor 1."

Minor 2 reportedly noted Harris guilted him for not sending nude photos and would get "pushy" about it. Harris also asked Minor 2 if he wanted to meet for a sexual encounter.

Law enforcement officials spoke to other minors, one of whom described Harris as "relentless" because he asked one of the minors for naked photos "for three straight hours." Harris reportedly offered one of them money for naked pictures, and paid one of the juveniles somewhere between $2,000 to $3,000 over the course of the summer of 2020.

According to the criminal complaint, Harris had anal and oral sex with a 15-year-old at a cheer event in 2019 and received child pornography on Snapchat from 10 to 15 juveniles.

Harris pleaded guilty to child pornography and traveling to engage in sexual conduct with a minor in in February.

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