Jerry Harris who starred on the Netflix documentary “Cheer” has been charged with producing child pornography.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois announced that Jerry was charged federally on Thursday for one count of producing child pornography. He has been accused of “enticing an underage boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself.”
He was arrested and charged on Thursday and is scheduled to an appearance in court later in the day.
Federal authorities claim that Jerry allegedly contacted an underage boy through social media and constantly baited him into making sexually explicit videos and photographs of himself and sent them to Harris. The complaint continued to state that the victim informed Jerry that he was only 13 years old.
As we previously reported, the FBI officially launched an investigation after Jerry was accused of allegedly soliciting sexually explicit photos and sex from minors. The allegations were reported to authorities by Varsity Brands, which is the company that operates the cheerleading industry and handles everything from uniform sales to major competitions.
The company said, “As a result of the recent allegation, we have barred this person from having any affiliation with Varsity Brands or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, now and in the future.”
A spokesperson for Jerry later released a statement and said, “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.”
At the time the alleged victims have been identified as 14-year-old twin brothers, who claimed that Jerry harassed them both online and in-person at cheer competitions when they were 13 years old.
THR reports that the production of child pornography is punishable by a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years.
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TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94
