Jerry Harris, 'Cheer' Star, Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison in Child Pornography Case
etonline.comJerry Harris has just been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison in his child pornography case.According to multiple reports, the star was sentenced Wednesday at a hearing that included Harris' supporters who spoke on his behalf before the judge announced the sentencing.
Prosecutors initially wanted Harris to get 15 years.The sentencing comes nearly five months after Harris pled guilty in a Chicago courtroom to receiving child pornography as well as traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
At the time, a statement from Harris' lawyers noted that he wanted to take responsibility for his actions and «publicly convey his remorse for the harm he has caused the victims in this case.»«Jerry is a 22-year-old young man whose story can only be understood through the lens of the extreme poverty, sexual abuse, and neglect of his childhood,» the statement reads. «The criminal conduct in this case also took place in the context of a competitive Cheer Community where inappropriately sexualizing and sexually abusing children was far too common and too often overlooked.
Jerry was himself exploited, manipulated, and sexually abused as a child within the Cheer Community in a way that perversely made him believe that this sexual conduct was somehow normal when it was not.
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