The 22-year-old previously pleaded guilty to one count of traveling with intent to engage in unlawful sexual conduct and one count of taking indecent images. Prosecutors at the hearing in Chicago had asked for a long prison term, arguing that Harris’ status as a popular celebrity allowed him to “convince and entice” his young victims to engage in sexual behavior. Harris has been in custody at a federal detention center since his arrest in September 2020. In February this year, he pleaded guilty to two of the seven charges against him, including persuading a 17-year-old to send him sexual photographs for money and traveling to Florida with the intention of “engaging in unlawful sexual conduct” with a 15-year-old. -years. According to the indictment, Harris allegedly solicited sex from minors at cheerleading competitions and convinced the teenage boys to send him lewd photos and videos of themselves. Harris later admitted to FBI agents that he asked a teenage boy to send him pictures of himself and that he requested indecent images on Snapchat from at least 10 to 15 others he knew to be minors. Harris, from the Chicago suburb of Naperville, starred in Cheer, a reality television series that followed a competitive cheerleading squad from Navarro College in Texas as they aim to win a national title. Other cast members had acted as character witnesses for Harris, including Navarro’s college coach Monica Aldama, teammate Morgan Simianer and the parents of Harris’ teammate Gabby Butler. The second series of Cheer deals with the investigation into Harris, and devotes an entire episode to the incidents, entitled ‘Jerry’.
