'Cheer' star Jerry Harris accused of allegedly soliciting from minors - UPDATED
09/15/2020 12:36 pm PDT
UPDATE Sept. 17:
Jeremiah Harris, 21, was arrested Thursday on a federal child pornography charge for allegedly enticing an underage boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois announced.
Harris allegedly contacted the underage boy on a social media application and repeatedly enticed him to produce sexually explicit videos and photographs of himself and send them to Harris, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The victim informed Harris during their initial online encounter that he was 13 years old, the complaint states.
The complaint charges Harris with one count of producing child pornography. Harris was arrested Thursday morning.
Sept. 15, 2020:
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WGN) -- FBI agents executed a search warrant at a home in Naperville Monday afternoon as part of an investigation into allegations that celebrity cheerleader Jerry Harris solicited sex from minors, according to USA Today.
Harris has not been criminally charged.
USA Today reports the FBI investigation is based on separate allegations passed along to police by Varsity, a company active in the cheerleading industry, which included screenshots of social media conversations.
A spokesman for Harris told Variety: “We categorically dispute the claims made against Jerry Harris, which are alleged to have occurred when he was a teenager. We are confident that when the investigation is completed the true facts will be revealed.”
The Chicago Tribune reports FBI agents with a warrant searched a home on Evercrest Court in Naperville as part of the investigation.
The 21-year-old cheerleader gained national attention when he was featured in the Netflix docuseries “Cheer,” which was nominated for six Emmys this year.
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