Jerry Harris, one of the stars of the Netflix show “Cheer” has been arrested after he was charged with producing child pornography. The 21 year old man admitted to the FBI that he had been interacting with several minors on Snapchat asking them to send him pictures and videos of their genitals.
Jerry Harris is also the subject of a lawsuit which was filed 3 days ago on behalf of two twin boys. According to the complaint, Jerry sent them sexually explicit pictures of himself and tried to corner one of them in a bathroom and asked him to perform oral sex on him.
Jerry Harris became a TV star after the show Netflix “Cheer” started to follow his cheerleading team from Navarro College in Texas in its attempt to win the national title.
The victims who filed a lawsuit against Jerry are also participating in cheer competitions. The complaint indicates that both boys have been harassed for over one year online and at cheer events. The complaint was filed after the mother found a message from Jerry on one of the boy’s phone.
The complaint not only accuses Jerry of child sexual abuse but also accuses several cheers organizations of failing to protect the boys. These organizations are US All Star Federation, Varsity Spirit and the Cheer Athletic.
When Netflix released Cheer last January, it was an immediate success and Jerry Harris became one of the favorite characters. The show recently won two Emmy Awards.
A spokesman for Harris said that Harris was disputing the charges against him which are alleged to have occurred when he was a teenager. For now his short career is ruined and he is facing a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison for production of child pornography.
Read more in The Guardian