Jeremiah “Jerry” Harris could spend the next several decades behind bars.
According to TMZ, the former Cheer star pleaded guilty Thursday in his federal sex crime case. He is accused of soliciting sex from underage boys as well as enticing a minor “to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself.” The outlet reports Harris is now facing a five-to-50-year prison sentence.
Jerry Harris has been held without bond since September 2020, after two 14-year-old brothers accused him of sexual abuse and demanding nude photos and videos of them. Just several months later, the 22-year-old was hit with more charges alleging misconduct with underage boys between August 2017 and August 2020 in Texas, Florida, and his home state of Illinois.
Harris reportedly admitted to soliciting and receiving child pornography from 10 to 15 individuals whom he contacted on social media. He also told the FBI he paid a 17-year-old to send him explicit photos, and confessed to having sex with a 15-year-old during a 2019 cheerleading competition.
The Cheer star was ultimately slapped with seven charges: one count of traveling with the attempt to engage in sexual conduct with a minor, one count of receiving and attempting to receive child pornography, another for enticement, and four counts of sexual exploitation of children. Harris pleaded not guilty to the charges in December 2020.
In statement to Insider, Harris’ attorneys claimed their client changed his plea because he “wishes to take responsibility for his actions and publicly convey his remorse for the harm he has caused the 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,” the statement continued. “The criminal conduct in this sexualizing and sexually abusing children was far too common and too often overlooked.”
Harris’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for June.
