Twin brothers Charlie and Sam are speaking out about their harrowing experience with Cheer star Jerry Harris.
As revealed in a shocking report by USA Today on Monday, the 21-year-old breakout star of Netflix‘s hit docuseries is being investigated by the FBI for allegedly soliciting sexually explicit photos and sex from minors. Joined by their mom Kristen, the pair of 14-year-old cheerleaders sat down with the outlet to bravely open up about their side of the story. (Their last names have been withheld since they are still minors alleging abuse.)
The boys’ mom explained to the outlet how she discovered something inappropriate was going on between Harris and her sons after following a random suspicion to look through Charlie’s phone. She shared:
“My first indication that there was something going on was I found a series of text messages on Charlie’s phone with Jerry Harris. I feel like I was akin to the fact that they were friends with him, but I wasn’t aware that there was something inappropriate about that relationship. That caused me to sort of delve deeper with Charlie and look in his Snapchat and things like that and see that it was more than just text messages.”
Charlie went on to say that despite the Illinois native’s happy-go-lucky public persona, he personally witnessed a different side of the cheerleading star:
“What everyone is seeing of Jerry Harris from the outside view from social media is a completely different person from when you actually know him.”
He continued:
“Jerry would send me photos and videos of himself. Obviously, nude pictures of himself and say all of things he wants to do me and stuff like that. If I didn’t comply with it or do it, he’d be like, ‘I’ll block you or unadd you.’ I don’t like when people are mad at me so I was trying to please him.”
Charlie shared a screengrab of a photo he sent to Harris where he was seen doing a flexible leg stretch, to which the athlete responded with:
“Do it naked and take a video and show me.”
Wow. This sounds so disgusting and predatory!
Sam, for his part, described feeling uncomfortable at cheerleading competitions because he feared running into Jerry. He said the Navarro Cheer alum would not only ask for pics, but also frequently try to meet up with him in private for hookups:
“He has asked me for nudes two or three times and every single time he asks I just shut him down and said no. He said a couple of weird things to me before, but nearly not to the extent of what happened with Charlie. It was super uncomfortable for me especially at competitions because I would see him and I really wouldn’t want anything to do with him, because I know what his motives would be. He would try to be like, ‘go somewhere with me’ and hook up with him and I’d be like ‘no, I don’t feel comfortable with that.'”
Ugh, this is just awful.
Kristen said she made a report about Jerry to the U.S. All Star Federation (USASF) on May 10, citing “sexual misconduct or abuse” on the official filing. She said the organization acknowledged the report via email, but she didn’t hear back from them until early July when they asked to chat over the phone about it. The concerned parent felt like no one had her back because it took them months to ever follow up.
But then Varsity issued a letter to Orlando Police on August 1 about Harris’ alleged activity which included accusations of sending nudes, explicit text messages, and videos of himself masturbating. The statement clarified they would bar from him from any current or future affiliation with their brand, but Kristen and her family are looking for more to be done about this. They’ve since filed a lawsuit against Harris, Varsity, USASF, and the Cheer Athletics gym where the embattled athlete cheered, per court docs that also say he sexually exploited others in the cheerleading community.
Related: CHEER: What Are The Cast And Coaches Up To Now?
In the sit-down interview, Charlie insisted he spoke up to protect this alleged behavior from happening to others:
“I would not be putting myself out there and doing all of this stuff, literally losing my friends about this for no reason. And I know if nothing is really said about him and stays out there, these things are just going to continue happening. “
Their family’s attorney Sarah Klein also commented on the shocking allegations:
“Yes, he might be charming and funny and loveable, and also be engaging in sexual activity with children.”
In the wake of these claims, FBI agents have already executed a search warrant on Monday at a home in Harris’ native Illinois in conjunction with the investigation. We sincerely hope they’re able to get to the bottom of this and get some more answers for this family. Watch their firsthand account in the clip here:
We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this situation as it develops, but thoughts, Perezcious readers? Share your reactions with us (below) in the comments.
[Image via USA Today/YouTube]
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