Jeremiah Harris, Star of Netflix’s ‘Cheer,’ Accused Of Solicitation Of Minor & Producing Child Pornography

On Thursday, one of the stars of the Netflix docuseries Cheer, Jeremiah Harris, was arrested and charged in Chicago for the alleged solicitation of two minors for sexually explicit photographs. The proceedings will be heard in a federal court and can lead to a maximum 30-year prison sentence.

The six-part Emmy-award winning series followed the competitive lives of the Navarro College Bulldogs Cheer Team of Corsicana, Texas. Harris rose to fame after being publicly lauded for his proud performances and “matt talk,” a cheerleading term for the cheering of others’ performances, that quickly made him a fan favorite. Harris appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, being tapped for a position as an Oscar Correspondent for Ellen DeGeneres back in February of this year.

New accusations suggest that Harris had reportedly used his status to get close to several minors and allegedly asked them for sexual pictures and favors. The accusers taking legal action against Harris are a pair of twin brothers who claim the alleged incidents occurred when they were 13 years old.

According to documents released on the U.S. Department of Justice website, Harris is accused of having “contacted the underage boy on a social media application and repeatedly enticed him to produce sexually explicit videos and photographs of himself and send them to Harris, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The minor victim informed Harris during their initial online encounter that he was 13 years old, the complaint states.” Harris also allegedly attempted to solicit oral sex from the young boy by the threat of violence, leading to Harris’ investigation by the FBI. According to USA Today, who were provided with screenshots of the conversations in question by the boys’ family, the investigation has led to Harris’ firing by Varsity Brands.

The alleged victims remain anonymous due to their age but have reportedly already been sexually assaulted in the past by a cheerleading coach.