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Marisa Kwiatkowski
| USA TODAY
‘Cheer’ star Jerry Harris was arrested and charged with producing child pornography
The FBI arrested Jerry Harris after investigating reports made to the police by two 14-year-old boys who claim that the Netflix “Cheer” star requested explicit photos and sex.
Sandy Hooper and Alexis Arnold, USA TODAY
Two cheerleaders featured in Netflix’s popular “Cheer” documentary series were arrested this week in separate criminal cases related to alleged sexual misconduct involving minors – the latest arrests connected to a program already tainted by allegations of misconduct against the star. Jerry Harris escape.
Robert Joseph Scianna Jr., a 25-year-old trainer and choreographer with a large international fan base, was arrested on Wednesday in Virginia and charged with the offense of taking indecent liberties with a child and using an electronic communication device to request sex. , according to the Chesterfield County Police Department. Police said he made an appointment with a young man he met through a social media platform for sex. Scianna could not be reached on Friday for comment.
Mitchell Ryan, a member of the Navarro College cheerleading team, featured in “Cheer,” was arrested Wednesday in Texas. Ryan, 23, was charged with aggravated sexual assault on a child in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred on July 24, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department records show.
“This has been a nightmare for Mitch and his family,” said Ryan’s lawyer, Jeremy Rosenthal. “We hope that Dallas County hears the truth and that this case is closed.” Rosenthal declined to comment further.
Her arrests came almost five months after cheerleader Harris, an emerging star on the Netflix documentary series, was arrested and accused of requesting nude photos and sex of minors. Harris, 21, is facing several criminal charges, including sexual exploitation of children and transportation with intent to illicit sexual conduct.
The allegations against Harris were first published by USA TODAY as part of an investigation into sexual misconduct in cheerleaders. That investigation revealed widespread flaws in the way the US All Star Federation (USASF), the regulator of competitive football, handled allegations of misconduct involving minors.
The crowd has a list of banned people: 74 convicted sex offenders were missing.
‘A big slap in the face’: Frustrations grow with cases of mistreated sexual misconduct by cheerleaders
The USASF suspended Scianna on Wednesday, but did not suspend Ryan. The governing body has been aware of the charges against Ryan since last year, according to an owner of the academy where Ryan worked. Cheer Athletics co-owner Angela Rogers told USA TODAY that the company fired Ryan after hearing about the charges against him last year and reported them to the police and the USASF.
USASF did not respond to a request for comment.
Both Scianna and Ryan are well known in the cheering world.
Scianna, a celebrity cheerleader with 237,000 followers on Instagram, was featured in an episode of “Cheer”, posing with another prominent cheerleader, Gabi Butler, in an evening photo shoot for Rebel Athletic. According to his website, Scianna has hosted more than 300 cheerleader camps and choreographed 140 routines, working with gyms in more than 13 countries.
Sgt. Winfred Lewis, of the Chesterfield County Police Department, said Scianna sent a message to someone he believed to be a 14-year-old boy on Tuesday and Wednesday and agreed to meet. He was arrested before the meeting. Lewis declined to elaborate on the case, but said there did not appear to be any connection with the crowd.
“He probably has as much contact as possible with young people, with underage children,” said Lewis, referring to Scianna’s involvement in the crowd. “Hopefully, if there are more victims out there than for whatever reason, perhaps because of their stature, they don’t want to report, they should go to the police department so we can investigate further.”
Police said Scianna is being held in Chesterfield County jail without bail.
Ryan rooted for the Navarro College team featured in “Cheer”, but is not listed on the current list. He was also a member of Cheer Athletics Wildcats, a team that competed last summer on NBC’s hit show “America’s Got Talent”. Ryan bailed on Friday and was released from prison, records show.
Netflix declined to comment on the arrests. USA TODAY was referring to a previous statement made after Harris’s arrest: “Like everyone, we are shocked by this news. Any child abuse is a terrible crime and we respect the legal process.”
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Tricia L. Nadolny and Marisa Kwiatkowski are reporters for the USA TODAY national investigation team. Tricia can be reached at [email protected] or @TriciaNadolny. Marisa can be contacted at [email protected], @byMarisaK or by phone, Signal or WhatsApp at (317) 207-2855.