231339
232884
Entertainment  

Jerry Harris pleads guilty

Jerry Harris has pleaded guilty in his child pornography case.

The 'Cheer' star - who has been under investigation by the FBI for allegedly soliciting minors for sex in May 2019 - was warned by Judge Manish S. Shah in Chicago Federal Court on Thursday (10.02.22) that he could face up to 50 years in prison, but he won't be given his punishment until another hearing on 28 June.

The 22-year-old reality star had initially pleaded not guilty to seven charges in December 2020 but reached a plea deal and admitted to receiving child pornography and engaging in interstate travel for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual act with a minor under the age of 15, with prosecutors set to ask for the remaining charges to be dropped as part of the deal.

Harris' lawyers said their client wanted to “take responsibility for his actions and publicly convey his remorse for the harm he has caused the victims.”

He has been in custody since his arrest in September 2020 and according to his legal team, he has been undergoing in therapy in prison and “will spend the rest of his life making amends for what he has done.”

His lawyers also told how Harris had been sexually abused as a child in the world of competitive cheerleading.

The statement said: “There being no safe harbour to discuss his exploitation, Jerry instead masked his trauma and put on the bright face and infectious smile that the world came to know,” the statement said. “As we now know, Jerry became an offender himself as an older teenager.”

Authorities in Illinois previously explained the investigation was kicked off when the cheerleader allegedly contacted an underage youth via a social media app and "repeatedly enticed him to produce sexually explicit videos and photographs of himself", despite being told in their first exchange that the alleged victim was just 13 years old.

The youngster's lawyers previously said: "We are grateful that the U.S. Attorney and the FBI have taken swift action to protect children by investigating, arresting and charging Jerry Harris.

"This was made possible because our clients' mother had the courage to report Harris to the FBI as well as the Fort Worth Police Department and provided evidentiary proof of the manipulation, sexual harassment, abuse, and exploitation that her sons had suffered."

A lawsuit was also filed which alleged that Harris had solicited child pornography images and videos from two twin boys on multiple occasions.

The complaint stated that, during a voluntary interview with law enforcement officers earlier this week, Jerry admitted to asking one of the alleged victims - who he knew was 13 - to take explicit photographs and videos through Snapchat and also confirmed he had engaged in ongoing conversations with the teenager via the platform from December 2018 to March 2020.

to engaging in ongoing Snapchat conversations with the individual beginning in Dec. 2018 and continuing through March 2020.

The criminal complaint stated: "There is probable cause to believe that Jerry Harris knowingly employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct."



More Entertainment News

225429