Jerry Harris, the star of Netflix show Cheer, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison - as confirmed by Assistant US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Joseph D. Fitzpatrick.
"The sentence is 12 years in prison, to be followed by eight years of court-supervised release," Fitzpatrick told CNN.
Harris, born Jeremiah Harris, pleaded guilty in February to one count each of receiving child pornography and engaging in sexual acts with a minor.
He had agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors that, following sentencing on two out of seven counts against him, they would ask that the other charges be dropped. The deal came after Harris initially pleaded not guilty to all charges in December 2020.
The 22-year-old had persuaded a 17-year-old to send him sexually explicit photographs in exchange for money and he also took a trip to Florida for the purpose of "engaging in illicit sexual conduct" with a 15-year-old.
Harris was arrested in September 2020 and was charged with the production of child sexual abuse images. Federal prosecutors said at the time that he solicited videos and photos from two 14-year-old brothers, and had confessed to repeatedly asking an underage individual for child sexual abuse videos and images between December 2018 and March 2020.
In December 2020, he was indicted on further charges which alleged misconduct in Illinois, Florida and Texas.
According to the Washington Post, US District Judge Manish Shah told Harris to look at the sentence as an "expression of the seriousness of your crimes, tempered with some hope that all is not lost for you or for your victims, and that in the future some healing can occur."
As reported by CBS News, Harris expressed remorse for his actions in a statement released by his lawyer, saying that his behavior was "wrong and selfish,"
"I do not deserve forgiveness, but I do pray that one day you might find it in your hearts," Harris added.
He shot to fame when he and other members of a Navarro cheer squad were featured in the Emmy-winning documentary series, Cheer, which centred around the teammates' lives.
Harris was even in attendance at the Academy Awards in 2020 as a correspondent for The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
