Actor arrested for producing child pornography

American actor and TV personality Jeremiah “Jerry” Harris, who recently featured in Netflix’s breakout docuseries “Cheer,” has been arrested on charges of production of child pornography.

According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Harris has been accused of “enticing an underage boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself.” He was arrested on Thursday, three days after twin boys filed a lawsuit alleging Harris sent them obscene pictures of himself and ambushed one of them in a bathroom and demanded sexual favours. After the FBI raided his apartment on Monday, the accused admitted that he had asked one of the teenagers to send him pictures and videos of his private parts. He also reportedly requested and received similar obscene photographs from at 10 to 15 other people whom he knew were minors at the time. A spokesperson for Harris had earlier denied the charges in a statement with a news agency. “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,” the spokesperson reportedly said.

Following the arrest of Jerry Harris, the victims’ attorney reportedly released a statement which read, “We are grateful that the U.S. Attorney and the FBI have taken swift action to protect children by investigating, arresting and charging Jerry Harris. This was made possible because our clients’ mother had the courage to report Harris to the FBI as well as the Fort Worth Police Department and provided evidentiary proof of the manipulation, sexual harassment, abuse, and exploitation that her sons had suffered. We urge the authorities to undertake a thorough investigation of the United States All Star Federation, Varsity Spirit, and Cheer Athletics to determine which of their executives, employees, and representatives could have stopped Harris’ abuse and failed to do so.”