Netflix’s docuseries Cheer debuted in January of 2020 and the show following the competitive world of cheerleading quickly became a hit. And no one was more beloved on the show than Jerry Harris. The always positive cheerleader was so popular, he nabbed a correspondent gig for the Oscars.
But by September of 2020, Jerry’s star was tarnished and he quickly fell from grace. Two teenage brothers sued Jerry, alleging that he solicited sex and nude photos from them. They were 13 years old at the time of the incident. Later that week, Jerry was arrested on suspicion of child pornography. Then three months later, a seven-count indictment was issued against him. The indictment accused Jerry of multiple sexual criminal acts across multiple states. They acts all involving minors. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Now People is reporting that Jerry was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. His sentence comes after changing his plea to guilty on 2 of the 7 counts. Jerry appeared in court for the sentencing and was joined by close family and friends. Once Jerry serves his 12 years, he is ordered to complete 8 years of court-supervised release.
Prosecutors wanted Jerry to serve 15 years, NBC News reported. They alleged that he used “his status as a competitive cheerleader, his social media persona, and eventually his celebrity and money” to convince minor boys to send him sexually inappropriate photos and messages. Prosecutors also argued that Jerry proclaimed himself to be “mentor who could be trusted.” And that he paid his victims for sexual conduct. If they declined, he allegedly “threatened to disseminate the videos they had sent if they refused to continue.”
Jerry’s legal team requested a more lenient sentence of 6 years. They pointed to the fact that Jerry suffered sexual abuse himself. They claim that he was also underage at the time of his abuse, which caused him to have a “skewed version of what he understood to be appropriate relationships.” Jerry’s lawyers have not yet responded for comment.
In accordance with the plea deal with prosecutors, the other 5 charges were dropped, The New York Times reported. Back when he changed his plea, Jerry defense team told People about his decision to plead guilty. They stated he did it “because he wishes to take responsibility for his actions and publicly convey his remorse for the harm he has caused the victims in this case.”
His team added, “Jerry is a 22-year-old young man whose story can only be understood through the lens of the extreme poverty, sexual abuse, and neglect of his childhood. Jerry was himself exploited, manipulated, and sexually abused as a child within the cheer community in a way that perversely made him believe that this sexual conduct was somehow normal when it was not.”
[Photo Credit: Jim Spellman/Getty Images]
