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Jeremiah “Jerry” Harris, who stars in the Netflix series “Cheer,” was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in federal prison for pressuring minors into sexual acts.
Harris, 22, once recognized for his cheerleading “mat talk,” was arrested in September 2020 on a charge of production of child pornography. He pleaded guilty in February to two charges of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in the bathroom during a cheer competition and paying a 17-year-old boy to send him a sexually explicit photo and video on Snapchat, according to court records.
“Jerry Harris’ guilt has been firmly established,” said Sarah Klein, attorney for a Texas family that was the first to report allegations. “The sentence he received reflects the severity of his crimes and the lifetime of pain his victims will suffer.”
Harris also admitted to other crimes involving minors but those were dismissed in a plea agreement.
It is believed that Harris used his cheerleading fame as a way of persuasion. Harris became well known for his position on a Cheer Athletics All-Star team as well as the college team Navarro.
Harris blames his actions on being sexually assaulted when he was underage during his time in the cheerleading industry. The allegations shined a light on sexual assault claims being ignored on a wider scale in competitive cheerleading.
“I regret my decisions and I am deeply sorry,” Harris said in a statement shared by his attorney Todd Pugh. “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.”
Jerry Harris, a former star of the popular Netflix docuseries "Cheer," was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to sex crime charges earlier this year.https://t.co/FJpVoB1aHo
— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 7, 2022
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