Disgraced Cheer Season 1 star Jerry Harris pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in a Chicago court Thursday, reversing the not-guilty plea he submitted back in 2020, Rolling Stone reports.
Harris, who has been held without bond in Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center since his September 2020 arrest, "wishes to take responsibility for his actions and publicly convey his remorse for the harm he has caused," according to a statement from his legal team.
"Since his incarceration, Jerry has actively sought out and is participating in mental health treatment and therapy both for his conduct and the diagnosed trauma disorders for which he suffers," his lawyers added, arguing that Harris was sexually abused as a child and that his criminal behaviour stemmed from the related trauma.
"With his plea of guilty, Jerry will spend the rest of his life making amends for what he has done," they continued.
As partially detailed in Season 2, Episode 5 of the Netflix docuseries, Harris stands accused of soliciting pornographic images from 10 to 15 children, and in 2020, allegedly admitted to having sex with a 15-year-old in May 2019 when Harris was 19 years old.
Harris, who has been held without bond in Chicago's Metropolitan Correctional Center since his September 2020 arrest, "wishes to take responsibility for his actions and publicly convey his remorse for the harm he has caused," according to a statement from his legal team.
"Since his incarceration, Jerry has actively sought out and is participating in mental health treatment and therapy both for his conduct and the diagnosed trauma disorders for which he suffers," his lawyers added, arguing that Harris was sexually abused as a child and that his criminal behaviour stemmed from the related trauma.
"With his plea of guilty, Jerry will spend the rest of his life making amends for what he has done," they continued.
As partially detailed in Season 2, Episode 5 of the Netflix docuseries, Harris stands accused of soliciting pornographic images from 10 to 15 children, and in 2020, allegedly admitted to having sex with a 15-year-old in May 2019 when Harris was 19 years old.