Jeremiah "Jerry" Harris, one of the students who featured in Netflix's breakout docuseries "Cheer," has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on charges of producing child pornography, the US attorney's office said Thursday.
Harris is scheduled to appear in federal court in Chicago this afternoon, Assistant US attorney Joseph Fitzpatrick told CNN.
According to federal court records, Harris, 21, admitted to agents that he solicited and received explicit messages on Snapchat from at least 10 to 15 individuals he knew were minors, had sex with a 15-year-old at a cheerleading competition in 2019 and offered 17-year-old money in exchange for nude photos.
Production of child pornography is punishable by a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years, a press release from the US Attorney's office stated further.
Harris was interviewed by law enforcement this week on these accusations, according to the criminal complaint.
Child sexual exploitation
Earlier this week, Harris was accused of child sexual exploitation and abuse in lawsuit filed by an attorney representing two alleged victims.
A spokesperson for Harris told CNN at the time, "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, who experienced a meteoric rise to fame this year, recently won two Emmy Awards and is nominated for outstanding unstructured reality program, which will be announced during the last night of the virtual Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday.
The initial criminal investigation was based on allegations brought by 14-year-old twin brothers. In interviews with USA Today, the boys described a pattern of harassment, both online and at cheer competitions that started when they were 13 and Harris was 19.
They said it continued for more than a year. On Monday the FBI executed a search warrant at Harris' Naperville, Illinois, home. Since then, agents have interviewed other minors about their interactions with Harris, court records show.
