This is a breaking news story; more updates to follow:

Jerry Harris, one of the stars of the Netflix docuseries Cheer, was arrested on Thursday and charged in a federal court for producing child pornography. The Chicago Tribune broke the news.

This comes after news earlier this week that he had been accused of alleged abuse and child sexual exploitation, according to CNN. The alleged victims have sued Harris.

According to the lawsuit, Harris allegedly “exploited his popularity and position of fame with young male cheer athletes…leading up to, during and following the distribution of the ‘Cheer’ docuseries.” The victims were 13 at the beginning of the alleged behavior. At the time of the lawsuit filing, the victims are now 15 years old.

The victims also claim that Harris engaged in sexual messages with the victims, including sending “sexually explicit photos and videos of himself” to the victims and asking for “explicit” photos from the victims. He is also said to have tried to make the victims meet him in “secluded locations at various competitions, soliciting sexual conduct with these boys.”

Cheer Athletics, The United States All Star Federation and Varsity Spirit were also named in the lawsuit due to Harris being “a coach, trainer, mentor, representative and agent” of the companies. According to the lawsuit, the companies “failed to implement reasonable safeguards” that could have protected the victims from alleged sexual misconduct.

On the lawsuit, Harris’ spokesperson told CNN, “We categorically dispute the claims made against Jerry Harris, which are alleged to have occurred when he was a teenager. We are confident that when the investigation is completed the true facts will be revealed.” At the time of the allegations, Harris was 19; he is now 21. However, as we know, the legal age of adulthood in the United States is 18.

Jerry Harris

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