Opinion
14 Dec 20

'Cheer' star Jerry Harris facing new charges in sexual misconduct investigation

New indictments have been filed, following the initial charges this past September.

Jerry Harris, one of the stars from Netflix's Cheer docuseries, is being indicted on new charges that allege he solicited sex from minors.

Harris was arrested previously in September for the production of child pornography. Harris allegedly persuaded an underage boy to produce sexually explicit material – including photos and videos – of himself.

A new, seven-count indictment has been filed in the US District Court in northern Illinois, and this indictment was released last week. It comes after alleged incidents involving four minors between August 2017 and 2020. The charges include attempting to receive child pornography, and four instances of using, persuading, inducing and enticing a minor "to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct,” as well as “transmitting a live visual depiction of such conduct.”

In a statement, the attorneys for two of the alleged victims said: "We are grateful that the U.S. Attorney and the FBI have continued to investigate this case, locate additional victims and take action. This was made possible because our clients’ mother initially had the courage to report Harris to the FBI and provided evidentiary proof of the manipulation, sexual harassment, abuse, and exploitation that her sons had suffered.

“We urge the authorities to undertake a thorough investigation of the United States All Star Federation, Varsity Spirit, and Cheer Athletics to determine which of their executives, employees, and representatives could have stopped Harris’ abuse and failed to do so.”

Back in September, following the first round of charges, court documents said that Harris supposedly targeted multiple boys and “sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy” at an event.

A spokesperson for Harris previously 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.”

For more information on sexual harassment, assault and rape, visit the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.