NOTE: This article contains descriptions that some may find disturbing. Please read at your own discretion.
Jeremiah Harris, better known as “Jerry” — one of the students followed in Netflix docuseries “Cheer” — is facing new charges of soliciting sex with minors.
The allegations claim that the solicitation took place during cheerleading competitions.
The new charges also accuse Harris of convincing teenage boys to send him obscene photographs and videos of themselves, according to The Guardian.
A seven-count indictment against Harris was made public on Friday, Dec. 11.
The reality TV personality was first arrested and charged with production of child pornography back in September.
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At the time, the court said Harris, 21, “repeatedly enticed” a 13-year-old boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself and send them to him.
“The minor victim informed Harris during their initial online encounter that he was 13 years old,” according to a court release.
He has since been held in a federal detention facility without bond.
In a statement to ET Canada, Netflix said, “Like everyone we are shocked by this news. Any abuse of minors is a terrible crime and we respect the legal process.”
Harris was accused of child sexual exploitation and abuse in a lawsuit filed by a lawyer representing two alleged 14-year-old victims (who were 13 at the time of the alleged abuse). The cheerleader sent them sexually explicit photos and videos of himself, and at one point cornered a boy in a bathroom at a cheer competition and begged for oral sex, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit says the boy turned him down and left the bathroom.
The lawsuit said that when the boys met Harris at a cheer competition in 2018, he was already well-known in cheerleading circles.
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In interviews with USA Today at their Texas home, the boys described a pattern of harassment both online and at cheer competitions, which began when they were 13 and Harris was 19. They said it continued for more than a year.
The lawsuit filed against Harris and three cheer organizations says the boys’ mother reported Harris to the FBI in August.
A spokesperson for Harris told CNN: “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.”
Harris was a breakout star of “Cheer”, which followed the cheerleading team from Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, as they sought a national title.
“Cheer” was an instant success when it was released in January, and Harris drew fans for his upbeat attitude and his encouraging “mat talk.” Earlier this year, he interviewed celebrities on the Oscars red carpet for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”.
“Cheer” also won two Emmy Awards.
— With files from The Associated Press
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