Jerry Harris, known for the Netflix series, Cheer, pleaded guilty in a federal child pornography case on February 10 for charges related to his actions toward minors at cheerleading competitions.
According to a report by NBC News, the actor was arrested in September 2020 after two 14-year-old boys accused him of soliciting child pornography from them on multiple occasions.
He was then indicted in December 2020 on multiple charges, alleging misconduct with victims from Florida, Illinois, and Texas. Federal prosecutors also accused him of trying to persuade a minor to engage in oral sex at cheerleading events and soliciting another minor for sex.
Federal prosecutors say that Harris admitted to having five to ten victims, including the two 14-year-old boys, who were identified as twin brothers.
Harris’ change of plea hearing took place before the U.S. District Judge Manish Shah. According to NBC News, attorneys representing the twin brothers say that the 22-year-old pleaded guilty to two of the counts in his indictment: receiving child pornography and engaging in interstate travel for the purpose of engaging in a sexual act with a minor.
An attorney for Harris, Todd Pugh, said Harris pleaded guilty as a way of taking responsibility for his actions and publicly conveying remorse for the harm he has caused his victims.
Per NBC News, the mother of the twin brothers said in a statement that Harris’ guilty plea assures her the pain and grief her sons have suffered since they publicly spoke up about the sexual abuse would not be in vain.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Harris was initially charged with one count of production of child pornography earlier in 2020.
In October 2020, U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather McShain ordered that he remain in custody. Per The Dallas Morning News, Judge McShain said that Harris posed a threat to the community if released.
“Harris was not a child. He was an adult,” McShain said in dismissal of any “blurred line” between Harris’ age and the age of his alleged victims.
According to court records, Harris is currently being held without bond in Chicago’s downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center. His attorney Pugh said that the actor is undergoing mental health treatment and therapy behind bars.