cheers star Jerry Harris has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for soliciting sex with minors.
The 22-year-old, who rose to fame as part of the Netflix docu-series, had character witnesses read in court before the judge handed down the verdict.
Prosecutors had pushed for the long sentence, saying Harris’s status as a popular celebrity had enabled him to “persuade and entice” his young victims into sexual behavior.
Judge Manish S Shah handed the social media star and cheerleading champion the verdict to a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday.
Harris appeared in court for the long hearing, which lasted seven hours.
Character witnesses were read by friends of Harris, including Navarro College head coach Monica Aldama, teammate Morgan Simianer, and the parents of Harris’ fellow cheerleader, Gabi Butler.
Harris pleaded guilty in February to one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of receiving child pornography.
US prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining five counts under a plea deal.
A judge had previously told him he could be sentenced to 50 years in prison.
He was accused of soliciting sexually inappropriate photos of teenage boys, something he had denied.
A release of Harris’ attorney, Todd Pugh, confirmed Harris’ guilty plea to… metro.co.uk† It read: “Jerry Harris has pleaded guilty today to take responsibility for his actions and to publicly apologize for the damage he inflicted on victims in this case.
Jerry is a 22-year-old young man whose story can only be understood through the lens of the extreme poverty, sexual abuse and neglect of his childhood.
Since his incarceration, Jerry has been actively seeking and participating in mental health treatment and therapy, both for his behavior and for the diagnosed trauma disorders he suffers from.
“With his admission of guilt, Jerry will spend the rest of his life making amends for what he’s done.
“He hopes that he can show the people who have been harmed by his behavior that he can one day recoup his value to them as human beings and that as he matures, he can indeed make a contribution that matters.”
Cheer tracked the ups and downs of Navarro College’s competitive cheer team.
Harris rose to fame in the first season of Cheer, with the second series dealing with the allegations against him†
In one episode, twin survivors Charlie and Sam shared details about the abuse they allegedly experienced when they were 13 years old.
They claimed he asked for explicit photos and sex at the age of 19.
“He asked me how old I was and I told him I was 13,” Charlie said. And then, right away, he asked me ‘can I have ass pics?’ or “can you send ass pics?”
“I was willing to do that and was a bit taken aback by his fame at the time.”
The twins admit they were concerned about reporting Harris because they feared they would lose their cheer friends as a result.
