Warning: This article contains some spoilers.
What happens to a community when a loved one is accused of sexual misconduct?
It's a question the cheerleading team of Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, doesn't shy away from with the second season of Netflix's Emmy-winning documentary series "Cheer."
The show, which begins its new season on Wednesday, focuses on the cheerleading teams at Navarro and his arch-rival, Trinity Valley Community College, as they prepare for the 2020 and 2021 National Cheerleading Association championships—also known as Junior Known as the College Olympics. shout for joy
Like many other productions, the series was put on hold, and the national championship was canceled in March 2020 due to COVID-19. By the time the show's filming resumed in September, another incident turned the team's life around: breakout star Jerry Harris was arrested on a federal child pornography charge.
In December 2020, federal agents filed seven additional charges against Harris, including receiving and attempting to obtain child pornography, using the Internet to "coerce, induce, and entice" a minor, and for involvement Purpose involves traveling from Texas to Florida. According to an indictment, illegal sexual conduct with a minor".
A trial date has not been set, but Harris has pleaded not guilty and denied all charges through a spokesman.
"We categorically dispute the claims made against Jerry Harris, which were allegedly made when he was a teenager," his spokesman said in a statement in September 2020.
Following his arrest, Harris admitted in a voluntary interview with law enforcement officers that he had sought sexually explicit photos on Snapchat of 15 individuals he knew were minors and 15 at a cheer event in 2019. Had sex with a year old. for the 2020 indictment. It was unclear how old Harris was when these alleged exchanges took place.
According to court documents, Harris, whose attorney did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment, is expected to appear at a hearing on the situation on Wednesday.
To say that the Navarro cheerleading team has had to deal with more than its fair share of challenges would be an understatement. And it's a sentiment that's especially true for "Cheer" stars and Navarro cheerleaders Gabriella "Gabby" Butler and Morgan Simienor.
The cancellation of the 2020 national championships was "devastating", said Butler, who competed that year and in 2021.
"We worked very hard, basically to be at the finish line and then it just went away," she said.
For Simianar, it was particularly difficult as the 2019-20 cheer season was his last.
"I wasn't emotionally well. I cried a lot and it was really hard for me to process it," she said. "It's my heart and my soul, and I love Navarro."
But for all the trials and tribulations Butler and Simianer have endured over the past two years, Harris' arrest was one of the most devastating, he said.
Harris has cheered with both since the 2017–18 cheer season, Simienor said.
“We were all very tight-lipped and the Jerry you guys saw in the first season — that was the Jerry we knew,” she said. "He was a bubbly, fun-loving personality who was always positive and pulling other people out of their low points."
"But when everyone heard the news, especially our whole team in Navarro, it was devastating, it was very sad and it was very sad."
Simiener and Butler both said they had their hearts out for everyone involved in the situation.
Experts said finding out that a close friend or family member has been accused of sexual misconduct is like experiencing the stages of grief over losing a loved one.
Kristen Houser, a nationally recognized expert in sexual abuse with 30 years of experience, said it's "normal" for people to feel conflicted when they've known about a loved one they've been accused of in the past. , is inconsistent with them.
"Disbelief or rejection is often the most common initial reaction, and then after processing it a bit more, people quickly turn to an amateur investigator trying to figure out what happened."
Butler said finding out about Harris' arrest with camera recordings also didn't help him process the news.
"It was a moment that I just wanted to spend alone, because it was a very, very, very devastating thing," she said.
Laura Palumbo, communications director for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, said the challenge is that when a loved one is accused of something unimaginable, it often goes against the degrading categories of "good" and "bad" people.
Palumbo said a loved one who has been accused of sexual misconduct does not capture the "complexity" and "totality" of a person as a person. "They have other characteristics, but that doesn't mean they are incapable of being a caregiver or a positive influence."
The flip side, he said, is that the same characteristics associated with the person we love may also be qualities of someone who was accused of sexual abuse.
Shortly after its debut in January 2020, "Cheer" became a huge success, propelling the show's main cast into the national spotlight. One of the most popular stars was Harris, who became widely recognized for his flamboyant and passionate personality.
In fact, his popularity was so high that his online fan base became known as "Jerry Hive"; He often appeared on morning and late night talk shows; And she also served as a correspondent on the red carpet at the 2020 Oscars for "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
But, as the phrase often goes, the older Harris was, the tougher he was.
Our hearts are shattered into a million pieces. We are devastated by this shocking, unexpected news. Our children must be protected from abuse & exploitation, & we are praying hard for the victims and everyone affected. Please respect our privacy as our family mourns together.
— Navarro Cheer (@Navarro_Cheer) September 18, 2020
Navarro Cheer said in a tweet in September 2020 that it was "devastated by this shocking, unexpected news."
"Our hearts have been shattered into a million pieces," the statement said. "Our children need to be protected from abuse and exploitation, and we are praying hard for the victims and everyone affected."
In episode 5 of its new season, "Cheer" is the F.B.I. The investigation, which includes interviews with artists such as coach Monica Aldama and the twin teenage boys who accused Harris of sexual abuse in September 2020.
Aldama, who serves as a mentor and maternal figure to several team members, revealed that she heard the news when she was in dress rehearsal for Season 29 of "Dancing with the Stars."
"It was like an out-of-body experience at that point. I felt like I couldn't breathe," she says in the episode. "It was just a terrible situation, it was a really tough week because I wasn't [with the team]."
Aldma, who was not available for an interview for this article, also said in the episode that Harris had recently written her a letter, describing her hopes of becoming a motivational speaker one day.
In the episode, Netflix said that Harris' legal team declined to comment for the series.
At the end of the episode, there is a recorded interview with Harris, in which he says: "If I wasn't happy I might have fallen to the dark side. I'd probably just be on the street somewhere. Maybe in and out of prison."
Moving on, Aldama said, "I put one foot in front of the other. Every single day. There is no alternative."