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Jerry Harris, a former participant in the Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” was given a 12-year jail term on Wednesday by a federal judge for pressuring teenage boys to email him pornographic images and videos of themselves and for soliciting sex from kids during cheerleading competitions.

Additionally, U.S. District Judge Manish Shah mandated eight years of court-supervised release come after the term. Judge Shah referred to the sentence as an, “expression of the seriousness of your crimes, tempered with some hope that all is not lost for you or for your victims, and that in the future some healing can occur.”

Prior to his sentencing Harris apologized to his victims saying,”I am deeply sorry for all the trauma my abuse has caused you. I pray deep down that your suffering comes to an end.” “I’m not an evil person,” he said. “I’m still learning who I am and what my purpose is.”

Jerry Harris plead guilty to receiving child pornography and traveling with the intention to engage in illegal sexual conduct earlier this year.