Jerry Harris, who was prominently featured in Season 1 of Netflix’s Cheer, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for soliciting sex and pornographic photos and videos from minors, USA Today reports.
In September 2020, Harris was arrested after 14-year-old twin brothers alleged that he repeatedly harassed them online and in person when they were 13 and he was 19. One of the brothers also accused Harris of asking him for sex at two cheerleading competitions.
In February 2022, Harris pleaded guilty to two charges to multiple charges of sexual assault of a minor and paying a minor to send him explicit videos and photos via Snapchat.
Harris also was sentenced to eight years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
At the time of Harris’ arrest, Navarro coach Monica Aldama commented on Instagram that, “My heart is shattered into a million pieces… I’m praying hard for the victims and everyone affected.” Netflix responded to the charges with a statement: “Like everyone, we are shocked by this news. Any abuse of minors is a terrible crime, and we respect the legal process.”
Season 2 of the cheerleading docu-series did not shy away from the news of Harris’ arrest, which took place while the show was on a COVID-19-induced hiatus. When Harris’ teammate Gabi Butler heard the news, “my heart completely sank,” she recalls in Episode 5. “I, honestly, thought I was living in a bad dream. I could not wrap my head around any of that. I felt like someone had just, like, died.” The series also interviewed the twins who brought the initial allegations against Harris.