Jerry Harris From ‘Cheer’ Has Been Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

Courtesy of Netflix

Today, Thursday, September 17th, Jerry Harris was arrested by the FBI and reportedly charged with producing child pornography. According to USA Today, which was reportedly confirmed by the U.S. attorney's office, the charges stem from "allegedly enticing an underage boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself."

Harris reportedly has been under an ongoing federal investigation for soliciting photos and sex from minors, according to multiple sources that spoke with USA Today.

The arrest comes after a prior USA Today story earlier this week that reported allegations from two 14-year-old twin boys in Texas, who "described a pattern of harassment, both online and at cheer competitions, that started when they were 13 and Harris was 19." (Harris is now 21 years old.) The boys said that the harassment lasted more than a year.

The twin boys sued Harris, according to The New York Times, accusing him of "asking one of the boys for oral sex at a cheerleading competition and threatening 'imminent physical bodily injury.'" Their mother reportedly found sexually explicit texts, Snapchat messages, and other social media messages, and she reported what she found to the FBI, the Fort Worth Police Department, the U.S. All Star Federation, Cheer Athletics, and Varsity Spirit—the latter three of which employed Harris and are named in the lawsuit.

Harris rose to the spotlight earlier this year for his role in Netflix's docuseries Cheer, which followed the nationally ranked Navarro College cheerleading squad. Harris was a breakout star from the show, known for his "mat talk."

According to The Chicago Tribune, which first reported the news, Harris was charged in federal court in Chicago after the FBI searched his home in Naperville, Illinois, on Monday. If convicted, the minimum sentence for producing child pornography is 15 years in prison.