Two additional men linked to Netflix’s ‘Cheer’ charged in separate crimes involving minors

Two men featured in the popular Netflix docu-series “Cheer,” were arrested this week and face charges in connection with separate cases of alleged sexual misconduct involving minors. 

The arrests come nearly five months after one of the series’ prominent figures, Jeremiah “Jerry” Harris, was charged with one count of producing child pornography after allegedly repeatedly “enticing an underage boy to produce sexually explicit photos and video of himself,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.  

Additional charges were filed against Harris in December, including counts of child pornography and sex crimes, which allegedly involved four victims in Illinois, Florida and Texas.

On Wednesday, Robert Joseph Scianna Jr., who appeared in one episode of the Netflix series, was arrested and charged in Virginia with “taking indecent liberties with a child and use of an electronic communication device to solicit sex,” according to a press release from the Chesterfield County Police Department. 

Police say the 25-year-old allegedly arranged to meet a young person for sex that he had met online over social media. The press release added that Scianna is currently being held in the Chesterfield County Jail without bond. 

Sgt. Winfred Lewis told USA Today that Scianna had messaged someone he believed to be a 14-year-old boy on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the two had planned to meet. Lewis added that Scianna was arrested before the meeting occurred. 

It was unclear as of Saturday if Scianna had an attorney, and USA Today reported that he could not be reached for comment. 

Mitchell Ryan, who was previously a member of the Navarro College cheer team in Corsicana, Texas, that is featured in the Netflix show, was charged Wednesday with felony aggravated sexual assault of a child relating to an alleged incident that occurred on July 24, according to Dallas County Sheriff’s Department records. 

Records indicate that Ryan was booked in the county jail Wednesday and on Friday was released on $50,000 bond, according to CNN. 

The 23-year-old’s attorney, Jeremy Rosenthal, told CNN that Ryan and his family were “surprised by this arrest.” 

“There are two sides to every story and we are confident Mitch’s name will be cleared,” Rosenthal added. 

The attorney told USA Today, “This has been a nightmare for Mitch and his family,” and, “We look forward to Dallas County hearing the truth and this case being over.”

While Ryan was previously a member of the Navarro cheer team, he is not listed on the current team’s roster. 

Scianna, who has approximately 236,000 followers on Instagram, has become a celebrity in the world of cheerleading, and according to his website is a National Cheerleaders Association Champion, Majors Champion and a two-time World Champion.