‘Cheer’, is Netflix’s Emmy award-winning hit documentary series that revolves around the championship cheer team of Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. The cast and crew were just recovering from having their shooting schedules wrecked by COVID-19.

This was when they were struck by another blow. Navarro cheerleader Jerry Harris who had become a household name because of the series was sued by a pair of 14-year-old twin boys for child abuse.

He was later arrested by the FBI on charges of child pornography. The arrest left his peers, coaches, and fans reeling in shock and disbelief. It was something nobody had expected. Jerry was kind of the ‘star’ of the series in its first season. The arrest had a devastating effect on his peers because this was something that caught everyone off guard.

The very first episode of Season 2 speaks about the arrest. Episode 5 talks about it in-depth and is titled ‘Jerry’. Everybody has shared their reactions or views on his arrest. The episode includes interviews of the twin boys themselves who were allegedly harassed by him and also their mother.

Criminal Charges that Jerry from Cheer is in Jail for – What did Jerry do?

In September 2020 a set of twin 14-year old cheerleaders called Charlie and Sam claimed that Jerry Harris had sent them some inappropriate messages. The abuse supposedly started when they both were 13 and he was 19. In Episode 5 of the new season, the twins share details of these horrible experiences with the viewers.

On being arrested Jerry admitted to the FBI that he had engaged in many things such as exchanging sexually explicit photos and paying a 17-year-old minor to send him nudes. He also said that he had engaged in sexual contact with a 15-year-old at a cheerleading competition in 2019.

Further investigation led to his being charged for offenses such as sexual exploitation of children, receiving child pornography, and also traveling to engage in sexual conduct with a minor. He was also charged for enticement.

Where is Jerry from ‘Cheer’ Now?

Jerry Harris who is presently 22 years old has been held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago to date. As of now a date for his trial has not been set. However, the law has decided to detain him in prison until his trial because he is considered a threat to the community.

Both Jerry Harris and his lawyers have refused to comment on the subject in the Netflix series, though many of his peers, coaches, and fans have expressed their shock and opinion in the same.

Was Jerry Convicted?

A date is yet to be set for his trial. If convicted he could face a sentence of up to 15 to 30 years in prison. Though he himself hasn’t spoken to anyone from the time of his arrest, through his lawyer he has denied all allegations.

Also, it seems that he has written a very emotional letter to Coach Aldama. According to her, he is quite hopeful and positive about the future and has mentioned in the letter how he intends to become a motivational speaker.

She said that there was nothing negative in his letter. We haven’t heard from Jerry himself so we cannot tell if he’s genuinely hopeful for the future or if he’s in denial.

The Show Must Go on

Jerry is featured only a few times in the episodes of the second season. However, the show director Greg Whiteley reveals that this was done to focus on newcomers such as Mady Brum and Jada Wooten and had nothing to do with his arrest.

According to Coach Aldama at the meeting that they had related to his arrest, all the kids cried so hard that it felt like a funeral.  The show’s director said that he had reached out to him to get some kind of clarification related to his arrest. He said that it was normal for Jerry and himself to exchange messages or call each other. However, from the time of his arrest he had not communicated with him.