Jerry Harris, who gained worldwide attention for his role in Netflix's cheerleading documentary Cheer, has been sentenced to over a decade in prison on child pornography charges.
A judge on Wednesday sentenced Harris to 12 years in prison followed by eight years of supervised release, telling him the sentence is an "expression of the seriousness of your crimes, tempered with some hope that all is not lost for you or for your victims, and that in the future some healing can occur," according to The Associated Press.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Prosecutors said he "repeatedly" requested a 17-year-old boy send him sexually explicit photographs and videos and traveled to Florida to engage in sexually explicit conduct with a 15-year-old boy. In a plea agreement, Harris admitted he "requested and received other images of child pornography from two other minor boys" and "attempted to entice one of them to engage in sexual activity," prosecutors said.
According to the AP, Harris apologized in court before his sentence was read. "I am deeply sorry for all the trauma my abuse has caused you," he said. "I pray deep down that your suffering comes to an end. I'm not an evil person. I'm still learning who I am and what my purpose is."
His attorneys previously said in a statement to TMZ he will "spend the rest of his life making amends for what he has done."
-
Is New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan for free buses realistic?Talking Points A transit innovation or a costly mistake
-
5 side hustle ideas to supplement your budgetthe explainer Almost two-thirds of Americans are looking to get a second job in the next year
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified filesSpeed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
