Erry Harris said “I’m not a bad person” as he was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for crimes involving child pornography and soliciting sex from minors.
the star of hit Netflix series cheers apologized to his victims, saying he was “still learning who I am” during a federal court hearing in Chicago on Wednesday.
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.
I am not a bad person. I am still learning who I am and what my purpose is.
Judge Manish S Shah told the social media star and cheerleading champion to consider the sentence an “expression of the gravity of your crimes, tempered with any hope that all is not lost for you or your victims, and that in the may prevent any cure in the future”.
Harris, who has been in custody in a federal detention facility since his arrest in September 2020, appeared in court for the verdict, which lasted about seven hours.
Addressing his victims before his sentence, he said: “I am deeply sorry for all the trauma my abuse has caused you.
“I pray deep down that your suffering will end.”
He added: “I am not a bad person. I am still learning who I am and what my purpose is.”
Notable figures listed as authors of character letters used by his defense included other Cheer stars such as Navarro College head coach Monica Aldama, teammate Morgan Simianer, and the parents of Harris’ fellow cheerleader, Gabi Butler.
Harris, 22, previously pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and one count of receiving child pornography.
His pleas were submitted during a plea hearing in a US federal court in Chicago in February.
Harris pleaded guilty to two of the seven charges against him, including convincing a 17-year-old to send him sexually explicit photos for money.
The other count came from a trip he made to Florida with the aim of “performing illicit sexual behavior” with a 15-year-old.
US prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining five counts under a plea deal.
A US child pornography charge carries a sentence ranging from five to 20 years, and the second charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years.
Harris, of the Chicago suburb of Naperville, was the breakout star of Cheer, a series that followed a cheerleading team from Navarro College in Corsicana, Texasbecause it was looking for a national title.
He was arrested in September 2020 on charges of producing child pornography.
Prosecutors at the time alleged that he had requested videos and images of two 14-year-old brothers.
According to a complaint, federal prosecutors said Harris admitted to repeatedly asking an underage teen to provide pornographic videos and images between December 2018 and March 2020.
In December 2020, he was indicted on more misconduct charges in Illinois, Florida and Texas.
According to the indictment, Harris asked minors for sex at cheerleading competitions and persuaded teenage boys to send him obscene photos and videos of himself.
Harris later admitted to FBI agents that he had asked a teenage boy to send him pictures of himself, and that, according to the indictment, he had requested child pornography on Snapchat from at least 10 to 15 others he knew were underage.
The second series of Cheer covers the investigation of Harris and devotes an entire episode to the incidents, entitled “Jerry”.