Dirksen United States Courthouse (Ken Lund / Flickr)
Jeremiah “Jerry” Harris, the Naperville resident who gained fame through the Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” pleaded guilty Thursday to federal child pornography and illicit sexual conduct charges.
Harris, 22, entered a guilty plea on charges of knowingly receiving child pornography and engaging in illicit sexual conduct — two of the seven counts he was charged with — during a remote hearing before a Chicago judge Thursday afternoon.
“Yes I am, judge,” Harris said when asked by U.S. District Court Judge Manish Shah if he was indeed guilty of those two charges.
Harris was initially charged in September 2020 with soliciting sexually explicit videos and photographs from an underage boy. He was later indicted that December on additional charges alleging that he solicited sex from minors at cheerleading competitions and convinced teenage boys to send him obscene photographs and videos of themselves.
During Thursday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Guzman said that between July and August 2020, Harris began communicating with a minor over Snapchat and repeatedly requested sexually explicit photos and videos in exchange for payment.
And more than a year earlier, in May 2019, Harris allegedly flew from Dallas to Orlando specifically to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a 15-year-old boy. According to Guzman, Harris asked the victim to meet him in a public bathroom, where Harris then sexually assaulted him.
Once he was tipped off that he was the subject of a federal investigation, prosecutors alleged Harris destroyed his phone to eliminate evidence, yet later obtained a new phone in order to continue exploiting children.
As part of the plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed to drop the other five charges Harris was indicted on. He faces a maximum of 50 years in prison, Shah said during Thursday’s hearing.
Harris, who was born in suburban Hinsdale and raised in Bolingbrook, was the breakout star of the Emmy-winning docuseries that follows the cheerleading team from Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
“Cheer” was an instant success when its first season was released in 2020, and Harris drew fans for his upbeat attitude and his encouraging “mat talk.”
On Thursday, Harris said he began speaking with his attorneys over the past few weeks about entering a guilty plea. He’s remained in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago since his arrest, and has been receiving mental health treatment during his time there.
A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 28.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431
