Cheer’s Jerry Harris, 21, is under FBI investigation for allegedly soliciting sex from minors
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Cheerleader Jerry Harris is being investigated by the FBI after he allegedly solicited sex and sexually explicit photos from minors.
Agents with the FBI executed a search warrant at his home in Naperville, Illinois, on Monday afternoon as part of the investigation, sources told USA Today.
A spokesperson with the bureau confirmed law enforcement were conducting court-authorized activity in the area, but declined to elaborate further.
Harris, 21, the breakout star of Netflix’s docuseries Cheer, has not yet been criminally charged.
He has since deactivated his Instagram account and has issued no public comment since news of the investigation was made public.
Cheerleader Jerry Harris, famed for his appearance on Netflix’s Cheer, is being investigated by the FBI after he allegedly solicited sex and sexually explicit photos from minors
The criminal probe is based on allegations that were reported to police separately by Varsity, the global authority of competitive cheerleading.
In letters to police in Florida and Texas dated August 1, the company’s chief legal officer Burton Brilhart said Varsity had learned of ‘inappropriate sexual conduct’ allegations against Harris and was disclosing the information to authorities as legally required.
‘As a result of the recent allegation, we have barred this person from having any affiliation with Varsity Brands or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, now and in the future,’ Brillhart wrote, as reported by USA Today.
Included within the letters were two screenshots. In one of the images, taken from Snapchat, a picture of what appears to be the upper part of Harris’ face is show, along with the message, ‘Would you ever want to f***’.
The second screenshot, consisting of a series of text messages from a May 2, 2019 exchange, shows an individual named ‘jerry harris’ writing: ‘Hey btw I found a place for us to do stuff it’s actually pretty good haha.’
No further details were immediately available.
In his letters, Brillhart describes Harris as a former employee who was not actively working for Varsity at the time of the alleged incidents.
However, social media posts of Harris’ from May 2019 indicate that he was working for the National Cheerleaders Association, which is a Varsity brand.
Later the same year, in the summer, he posted a number of photos and videos of himself coaching at one of NCA’s camps.
Varsity has not yet returned a DailyMail.com request for comment, seeking clarity on the matter.
Cheerleader Jerry Harris, famed for his appearance on Netflix’s Cheer, is being investigated by the FBI after he allegedly solicited sex and sexually explicit photos from minors
Harris became Cheers break-out star, and later appeared on the Ellen Show as a guest presenter, interviewing celebrities at the Oscars (pictured above during a different appearance)
Harris was made famous earlier this year, following the January release of Netflix’s Cheer documentary series, which followed Texas’ Navarro College cheerleaders in their bid to secure a national title.
Cheer later received six Emmy nominations, and Harris, beloved for his positive and supportive demeanor in the show, became its break-out star.
In February, Harris starred as a guest presenter interviewing celebrities on the red carpet of the Oscars for the Ellen DeGeneres show.
Then in June, he appeared in a short video alongside Joe Biden in which he urged black voters to turn out on Election Day and vote for the former Vice President.
Harris, who amassed more than one million Instagram followers, also partnered with a number of companies for various advertising campaigns, including Walmart, Cheerios and Starburst.
Netflix had not responded to a DailyMail.com request for comment at the time of publication.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates…
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