'Cheer' star Jerry Harris arrested on child pornography charges
18 September 2020, 10:02 | Updated: 18 September 2020, 10:06
Netflix star Harris previously denied the claims.
Cheer star Jerry Harris has been arrested and charged over the production of child pornography following an FBI investigation.
The 21-year-old, who starred in the hit Netflix show earlier this year, allegedly enticed an underage boy on social media to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself and send them to him.
Earlier this week, Harris denied the claims, his spokesperson saying: "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."
According to a criminal complaint, the victim allegedly informed Harris during their initial online encounter that he was 13-years-old. Harris is accused of soliciting images from the minor from December 2018 to March 2020.
Harris was arrested on Thursday morning (17 Sept) on one count of producing child pornography. He was said to have been 19-years-old at the time of the offence.
If convicted on the federal child pornography charge, Harris could face up to 30 years in prison.
The investigation was reportedly based on sexual misconduct allegations that were reported to the police by Varsity, a company involved in the cheerleading industry.
Court documents say Harris admitted during an interview with law enforcement officials to soliciting and receiving explicit images from one of the minors and "at least between 10 to 15 other individuals he knew were minors".
Harris rose to fame on Netflix's six-part docu-series 'Cheer', which first aired on Netflix in January 2020. The popular show follows the prestigious Navarro College Bulldogs Cheer Team from Texas.
