“Cheer” Star Jerry Harris Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Case

“Cheer” star Jeremiah “Jerry” Harris has pleaded responsible to 2 out of seven sexual abuse and little one pornography prices, Individuals reported on Feb. 10. His plea comes greater than a yr after he initially pleaded not responsible. As a part of the brand new plea settlement, the opposite prices had been dropped and sentencing is about for June 28.

In an announcement to Individuals, Harris’s protection crew claimed he determined to plead responsible “as a result of he needs to take accountability for his actions and publicly convey his regret for the hurt he has precipitated the victims on this case.” The assertion continued, “Jerry is a 22-year-old younger man whose story can solely be understood although the lens of the intense poverty, sexual abuse, and neglect of his childhood. Jerry was himself exploited, manipulated, and sexually abused as a toddler throughout the cheer group in a method that perversely made him imagine that this sexual conduct was by some means regular when it was not.”

Harris was initially arrested in Naperville on Sept. 17, 2020 after allegations of kid sexual exploitation and abuse had been introduced towards him in a lawsuit by an legal professional representing two alleged victims. Three months later, he confronted further prices for receiving and trying to obtain little one pornography, utilizing the web in Orlando, FL, to “persuade, induce, and entice” a minor, and touring from Texas to Florida “for the aim of participating in illicit sexual conduct” with a minor.

Prosecutors additionally charged Harris with 4 counts of utilizing, persuading, inducing, and engaging a minor “to have interaction in sexually specific conduct for the aim of manufacturing a visible depiction of such conduct.” The acts allegedly occurred in Naperville, IL, and Corsicana, TX, between August 2017 and August 2020.

Attorneys Morgan Stewart and Sarah Klein, who symbolize two of the alleged victims, beforehand addressed the costs in an announcement, saying:

We’re grateful that the U.S. Lawyer and the FBI have continued to analyze this case, find further victims and take motion. This was made doable as a result of our shoppers’ mom initially had the braveness to report Harris to the FBI and supplied evidentiary proof of the manipulation, sexual harassment, abuse, and exploitation that her sons had suffered. We urge the authorities to undertake a radical investigation of the US All Star Federation, Varsity Spirit, and Cheer Athletics to find out which of their executives, staff, and representatives may have stopped Harris’ abuse and failed to take action.

In the event you or somebody you understand want to converse with somebody who’s skilled to help sexual assault survivors, please name the Nationwide Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.