Cheer‘s Jerry Harris “exploited and violated” at least 10 boys, federal prosecutors in Chicago allege, labelling him a “child predator”.
Harris was arrested and charged last month with one count of producing child pornography for allegedly soliciting pornographic videos and images from minors.
The new allegations, via Buzzfeed News, were made in a court filing on Tuesday, which further allege that Harris sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy in an unlocked public bathroom at a public event, which was also attended by “dozens of responsible adults” in the cheer community.
“[It] demonstrates that Harris either does not care about being caught committing his offences, or simply cannot stop himself,” prosecutors said.
The filing also alleges that Harris destroyed his phone when he first learned of the investigation, only to use his new “clean” phone weeks later to victimise more boys.
“Even after Harris was tipped off to the investigation and he destroyed his cell phone, he still could not stop himself from acting out on his criminal desires,” prosecutors said.
Again, prosecutors said this suggested that Harris either could not control his criminal impulses, or just did not care about getting caught.
In the weeks following Cheer‘s release on Netflix, Harris was considered one of the breakout stars of the show and went on to appear on a number of talk shows.
Most notably, Harris was Ellen DeGeneres‘ red carpet correspondent at the Academy Awards this year.
It is alleged Harris used his newfound fame and subsequent earnings to exploit minors.
His most recent victims were allegedly offered substantial sums of money – sometimes over USD$1,000 – to perform sexually explicit conduct for Harris over Snapchat or FaceTime.
Prosecutors said that Harris “exhibits all the signs of a serial child predator.”
“Unless and until he receives significant mental health sex offender treatments, he will remain a danger to any child he encounters, either online or in person,” they said.
If convicted, Harris faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, domestic violence or abuse, you can access free, confidential information, counselling and support by calling 1800RESPECT . If you are in immediate danger, please contact 000.
