‘Cheer’ Star Jerry Harris Sentenced To 12 Years For Sexual Conduct With Minors
Jerry Harris, the breakout star from Netflix’s docu-series Cheer, has been sentenced to serve 12 years in prison for two of seven federal charges against him involving sexual solicitation of minors. The former Navarro College cheerleader, who initially pleaded not guilty to all seven counts, has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago since 2020.
The sentencing follows a case that began nearly two years ago when Harris was arrested by the FBI after being accused of sexual abuse by two 13 year old twin brothers. He was charged with production of child pornography and exchanging explicit text messages with minors. His arrest came months after the season 2 premiere of Cheer, a reality series that follows the Navarro College champion cheerleading team and other squads.
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Initially, Harris’ legal team pushed to have only two charges against him: persuading a 17-year-old to send sexually explicit photos for money and also traveling to Florida “for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct” with a 15-year-old. His lawyers hoped that the remaining five charges would be dropped. In February, Harris pleaded guilty to the two mentioned felony counts against him, earning him a hefty sentence. Prosecutors dropped the remaining five charges in exchange for Harris’ plea agreement.
Harris’ defense lawyers requested that he only serve six years in prison with the following years served at home with supervision. An argument surfaced claiming Harris had been sexually abused as a child during his time competing in cheerleading, causing him to have a “skewed version of what he understood to be appropriate relationships.”
Prosecutors denounced those claims, stating that Harris used, “His status as a competitive cheerleader, his social media persona, and eventually his celebrity and money, to persuade and entice his young victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct for him or with him.”
Prosecution asked for 15 years in prison for the 22-year-old.
At the time of allegations, Harris was a blossoming socialite that had gone beyond the reality TV screen. Harris had grown his Instagram account to over a million followers, which garnered him several brand deals with Cheerios, Starburst and Walmart. His stardom also opened doors to work on the 2020 Oscars red carpet as a correspondent for Ellen. He also earned rare opportunities to interview huge names like President Biden, Oprah, Billie Eilish and Brad Pitt.
