Jerry Harris pleads guilty in federal child pornography case
CBSN
Jerry Harris, the former star of Netflix's "Cheer" docuseries, pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to one count of receiving child pornography and one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, the U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed to CBS Chicago. The 22-year-old has been held in a federal detention facility without bond since he was arrested in September 2020.
Harris pleaded guilty to persuading a 17-year-old to send him sexually explicit photographs for money and the other stemming from a trip he took to Florida for the purpose of "engaging in illicit sexual conduct" with a 15-year-old, the Associated Press reports. A plea agreement led prosecutors to drop the remaining five federal counts brought against Harris.
"We are grateful that the U.S. Attorney and the FBI investigated this case, located additional victims and took action," victims' attorney Sarah Klein said in a statement to CBS News. "Now, Jerry Harris' guilt has been firmly established. This was made possible because our clients' mother, Kristen initially had the courage to report Harris to the FBI and provided evidentiary proof of the manipulation, sexual harassment, abuse, and exploitation that her sons had suffered."
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