A federal grand jury has handed down new charges against Cheer star Jerry Harris this week, increasing the number of counts related to allegations of child pornography and enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity that have been made against the Netflix star by seven. Harris was previously arrested on a charge of producing child pornography back in September, after both an FBI investigation and a lawsuit that was lodged against him by two Texas teenagers, alleging that he had subjected them to “sexual harassment, exploitation, manipulation, intimidation, and sexual abuse.” Per Buzzfeed, these new charges are related to allegations of behavior against at least five minors by the 21-year-old cheerleader, with the events in question stated to have taken place in Naperville, Illinois; Orlando, Florida; and Corsicana and Dallas in Texas over the last few years.
The new indictment, which was handed out yesterday and revealed today, includes four counts of producing child pornography, one count of receiving child pornography, one count of enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity, and one count of traveling with the purpose of engaging in sex with a minor. Harris has previously stated in a statement to ABC News—timed around his initial arrest—that he’s innocent of the charges against him. Harris faces serious potential legal consequences in the case, as the statutory minimum for just one count of producing child pornography is 15 years in prison, before any of the other charges against him are taken into account.
Harris is reportedly currently being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.