“Cheer” star Jerry Harris reportedly pleaded not guilty to charges of child pornography after being accused of soliciting lewd photos of underage boys.
Harris did not appear in court physically, but pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of children, one count of receiving of child pornography, one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual contact with a minor, and one count of enticement, according to court documents obtained and published Monday by Entertainment Tonight.
“Cheer” star Jerry Harris has pleaded not guilty to federal child pornography charges and allegations that he solicited sex from minors at cheerleading competitions and convinced teenage boys to send him obscene photographs and videos of themselves. https://t.co/R0fLJBtDFM
— FOX 32 News (@fox32news) December 23, 2020
Each of Harris’ sexual exploitation charges carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, and the enticement charge carries a minimum of 10 years, Entertainment Tonight reported.
Harris was arrested in September after being accused of soliciting sex and naked photos of twin boys in Texas. As previously reported, two screenshots were shared with law enforcement that detailed the allegations. In one screenshot of a message from Snapchat, Harris’ face is allegedly visible along with a message reading “Would you ever want to ****.” (RELATED: REPORT: ‘Cheer’ Star Jerry Harris Arrested, Charged With Child Pornography)
Harris denied the allegations at the time.
“We categorically dispute the claims made against Jerry Harris, which are alleged to have occurred when he was a teenager,” a spokesperson for Harris told ABC News after the news broke. “We are confident that when the investigation is completed the true facts will be revealed.”