Jerry Harris, from the hit Netflix show Cheer, has been arrested on the charge of production of child pornography.
The 21-year-old is accused of “enticing an underage boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself”, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Jerry appeared in federal court in Chicago on Thursday afternoon.
His cheerleading squad Navarro College Cheer released a statement this morning following news of the allegations, which read: “Our hearts are shattered into a million pieces.”
“We are devastated by this shocking, unexpected news,” the statement continued.
“Our children must be protected from abuse and exploitation, and we are praying hard for the victims and everyone affected.
“Please respect our privacy as our family mourns during this heartbreaking time.”
Jerry is accused of soliciting images from the minor from December 2018 to March 2020.
The criminal complaint says that the victim informed Jerry during their initial online encounter that he was 13 years old.
If convicted, Jerry could face between a minimum of 15 to a maximum of 30 years in prison.
The charge comes after a lawsuit was filed earlier this week, in which Jerry was accused of child sexual exploitation and abuse of two alleged male victims.
A spokesperson for the reality star told CNN at the time of the lawsuit: “We categorically dispute the claims made against Jerry Harris, which are alleged to have occurred when he was a teenager.
“We are confident that when the investigation is completed the true facts will be revealed.”
However, court documents say that Jerry admitted during an interview with law enforcement officials to soliciting and receiving explicit images from one of the minors and “at least between 10 to 15 other individuals he knew were minors”.
Netflix issued a statement to the publication, which read: “Like everyone we are shocked by this news. Any abuse of minors is a terrible crime and we respect the legal process.”
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