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Jerry Harris, a star of Netflix reality series Cheer, has been charged federally with producing child pornography, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois.
Harris is accused of enticing an underage boy to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of himself.
The complaint, which was released on Thursday reveals the 21-year-old has been charged with one count of producing child pornography.
He was arrested Thursday morning and is set to make an initial court appearance later in the day.
Harris, who appeared on one season of Cheer, allegedly contacted an underage boy on social media and urged him to make sexually explicit videos and photographs of himself and send them to Harris.
It is reported that Harris knew the victim was underage from, according to the complaint.
It was reported earlier this week that federal authorities executed a search warrant of the reality star’s home.
They were searching for evidence of child porn after learning of allegations that he solicited a minor for sex.
Cheer launched on Netflix in January, and followed a nationally ranked college cheerleading team from Texas.
21-year-old Jeremiah Harris, also known as Jerry Harris, was a prominent figure on the first season, with viewers admiring his positive attitude.
FBI agents reportedly carried out the search warrant at his home in Illinois on Monday, September 14, but he was not arrested at the time.
Varsity, a private company which is part of the cheerleading industry.
It reached out to authorities in Florida and Texas after learning of claims of “inappropriate sexual conduct” back in August.
A spokesperson for Jerry Harris claimed that Jerry was 19 at the time of the alleged solicitation earlier this week.
According to Jerry’s spokesperson:
“We categorically dispute the claims made against Jerry Harris.” The statement says.
“Which are alleged to have occurred when he was a teenager.”
“We are confident that when the investigation is complete, the true facts will be revealed,” Jerry’s spokesperson concluded.
TMZ reported earlier this week that federal law enforcement sources were trying to determine whether he was in possession of any images of minors.
Production of child pornography is punishable by a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.