“Cheer” Star Jerry Harris Could Serve 15 Years In Prison For Child Porn Case

“Cheer” star Jerry Harris will soon learn his fate in his highly publicized child pornography case.

Though he is facing a maximum of 50 years in prison for his despicable crimes, prosecutors are calling for only 15 years. The former cheerleading coach was found guilty of using cheerleading competitions to solicit minors for sex and coercing teen boys to send him sexually inappropriate photos. He was arrested in September 2020 for soliciting indecent images of minors between December 2018 and March 2020.

Harris admitted to federal agents that he requested sexual images on Snapchat from 10 to 15 boys that he knew were underage.

Born Jeremiah Harris, the admired coach used his “status as a competitive cheerleader, his social media persona, and eventually his celebrity and money to sway the teenagers,” according to prosecutors.

His legal team attributed his behavior to his challenging upbringing and is pushing for a six-year sentence. They pleaded that poverty and homelessness contributed to his inability to make sound decisions. Assistant US Attorney Kelly Guzman also agreed with this reasoning in the sentencing memo recommending a lighter punishment, though he still believes 15 years is fair.

Harris will learn his fate on July 6th.