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Navarro College says Jerry Harris' arrest should not reflect on the school or its celebrated cheer squad ... because he wasn't part of their program even before the child pornography bust.

As you know ... Jerry, one of the stars of Netflix's cheerleading docuseries "Cheer," was arrested Thursday and hit with a charge of production of child pornography.

Navarro College, whose cheer team is featured on Netflix's uber-popular show, tells TMZ ... Jerry left campus in March due to the pandemic and completed his degree in May. We're told he did not return to Navarro this fall, despite the fact he could have continued cheering.

Remember ... at the end of "Cheer" season 1, Jerry goes off to the University of Louisville. We're told he enrolled there, and participated in cheer, but left in 2019 after one semester and returned to Navarro, rejoining its cheer team to resume filming with Netflix.

So, Jerry was cheering for Navarro before the coronavirus outbreak, but he hasn't been on campus since March, and hasn't been affiliated with the school since May, when he earned an associate's degree in science.

It's interesting ... Jerry did an interview before his arrest saying he wasn't sure what his plan was after graduating. He's since deleted his Instagram, which had pics of him in the Navarro cheer uniform.

Jerry Harris' cheerleading coach, Monica Aldama, says her "heart is shattered into a million pieces" following Jerry's arrest for child pornography.

Monica -- the head coach of the Navarro College squad featured on the Netflix docuseries, "Cheer" -- has broken her silence on the arrest of her popular "mat talk" leader, saying ... "I am devastated by this shocking, unexpected news."

She adds ... "Our children must be protected from abuse and exploitation, and I'm praying hard for the victims and everyone affected."

As we reported ... Jerry was arrested Thursday morning in Illinois and has been hit with a charge of production of child pornography. According to the feds, he allegedly contacted 2 teenage boys online, and repeatedly asked them to send nude images of themselves.

Harris allegedly began contacting the boys in December 2018 when he was 19 and they were 13.

The feds claim Jerry has admitted to engaging in continuous social media conversations with the minors that were sexual in nature and attempting to entice them into performing sex acts with him in person ... including at cheerleading events.

As we reported, the FBI had launched an investigation into the matter -- and Jerry's 2 alleged victims have also sued him.

Jerry Harris -- one of the stars of Netflix's cheerleading docuseries "Cheer" -- has been arrested for child pornography.

Jerry was arrested Thursday morning in Illinois and is being hit with a charge of production of child pornography ... according to Assistant U.S. Attorney, Joseph D. Fitzpatrick.

As we reported ... Harris was under investigation by the FBI for allegedly soliciting minors for sex back in May 2019. However, according to the criminal complaint, we're told he's been arrested because he allegedly asked teens for photos, which they sent to him.

According to the feds … the parent of 2 male children, both 14, claims Harris had contacted both of the boys online and “repeatedly solicited child pornography images and videos.” Harris allegedly began contacting the boys in December 2018.

The minors provided law enforcement with multiple screenshots of communications with Harris via Snapchat and text messages, along with evidence of apparent FaceTime calls with Harris.

According to the complaint, Harris was 19 at the time and the boys were 13.

The feds allege Harris also attempted to solicit sex with the boys on multiple occasions, including at cheerleading events.

The criminal complaint says Harris was interviewed on September 14 and admitted to engaging in continuous social media conversations with the minors that were sexual in nature, attempting to entice them into performing sex acts with him in person, and to soliciting and receiving child pornography on Snapchat from at least between 10 to 15 other individuals he knew were minors.

On top of that, Jerry's 2 alleged victims have sued him ... claiming he groomed them into sending the nude photos -- and they also claim he demanded sexual acts.

Jerry is scheduled to appear in federal court in Chicago Thursday afternoon for the child porn charge.

Tim Stark -- known as one of the players in the exotic animal world on 'Tiger King' -- has been found in contempt of a court order in a strange case involving ... you guessed it, zoo animals.

According to legal docs ... the court ordered all of the animals belonging to Stark's Wildlife in Need organization in Indiana to be removed last week by the Indianapolis Zoological Society.

Problem is ... many of those animals have gone missing since the court's order, and now Stark's accused of masterminding the effort to stash them.

Stark "voiced his strong desire in open court to re-locate the animals in his own way" ... according to the judge's contempt order. As a result, the judge ordered him "immediately remanded to the custody of the Marion County Sheriff."

We reached out to the Sheriff for more details ... no word back so far.

Two teens are taking "Cheer" star Jerry Harris to court for grooming them into sending nude photos and demanding sexual favors ... those are the allegations in a new lawsuit filed on their behalf.

The plaintiffs are minor twin brothers who are part of the cheerleading community in Fort Worth, TX -- where they say they first encountered Harris around 2018 at high-level competitions and became acquainted. From there, things allegedly turned sexual fast.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the brothers were starstruck by Harris when first getting to know him, as he was already a well-respected cheerleader on the champion Navarro college team, and had also filmed for Netflix's "Cheer" documentary.

In the lawsuit, they claim Harris almost immediately began taking them into his inner circle, befriending them on different social media platforms ... and, eventually, soliciting "booty pics" from them -- exploiting the fact they were both gay.

The docs say the boys reluctantly complied at times with Harris' requests, but go on to claim his requests became more frequent and more offline ... meaning he would allegedly solicit sexual acts from them in person, while also allegedly sending sexually explicit photos and video to them too.

In one alleged instance in 2019, one of the brothers claims Harris led him to a bathroom during a cheer competition and cornered him in a stall, where he allegedly begged the kid for oral sex. The boy says he managed to take off when his bro and teammates blew up his phone.

Mind you, at the time during these interactions ... the boys say they were just 13 and 14 years old, and that Harris was over 18. They also claim they've discovered other minors Harris has allegedly harassed, while adding he's been allowed to remain as a high-level coach and mentor at several different cheer organizations despite his alleged "past and ongoing sexual abuse of children." Some of these organizations, including United States All Star Federation and Varsity Spirit, are also defendants in the lawsuit.

Jerry Harris -- one of the cheerleading stars of Netflix's uber-popular show "Cheer" -- is being investigated by the FBI for allegedly soliciting minors for sex.

FBI agents executed a search warrant at a home in Illinois Monday, following up on the allegations against Harris ... according to USA Today. At this point, Harris -- a fan favorite while cheering for Navarro College on "Cheer" -- has not been charged.

Authorities were reportedly made aware of the allegations when Varsity, a private company in the cheerleading industry, alerted cops in Florida and Texas. The company learned about the claims of "inappropriate sexual conduct" last month.

According to the report, Varsity shared 2 screenshots with police, including an alleged Snapchat message of Jerry's face with the message, "Would you ever want to ****."

As you know ... Jerry rose to fame during the Netflix docu-series following his cheer team, and he became known as the "King of Mat Talk."

Rob Gronkowski is gonna like this ... Netflix's hit show "Outer Banks" is already filming season 2, and that means coronavirus precautions for the cast and crew.

Here's the scene on the 'Outer Banks' set this week, as filming gets rolling on James Island in South Carolina ... the main characters are all in masks, what with the pandemic and all.

You can still make out who everyone is behind their face covering ... Madelyn Cline, who plays Sarah Cameron, and Chase Stokes, who plays John B, are masked up in the car.

And, here's Madison Bailey (Kiara), Jonathan Daviss (Pope) and Rudy Pankow (JJ) walking through a field and keeping their social distance. This is how it's done!

As we reported ... Rob says he's all about that POGUE LIFE, as 'Outer Banks' season 1 became his obsession during the NFL offseason, binge-watching the show in 2 days with his S.I. Swim model girlfriend Camille Kostek.

The ending pissed a lot of folks off, kooks and pogues alike, but maybe people will be happier with the end of season 2.

At least they're filming!!!

Carole Baskin's got the eye of the tiger as she prepares for her big "Dancing with the Stars" debut ... and she's practicing her moves in a way that would make Billy Idol proud.

Sources close to Carole tell TMZ ... she's been dancing with herself in her Los Angeles apartment during her downtime this week as she gets ready for her first 'DWTS' number.

Carole's gearing up for her first dance, which will be to "Eye of the Tiger," but we're told she's not practicing to any specific music ... just the music in her head.

With Carole only getting 3 to 4 hours a day of official 'DWTS' rehearsal, she's taking her work home ... we're told she feels she needs more practice and moved the furniture in her living room to create her own dance floor.

Carole's documenting her progress too ... we're told she's recording her practice dances on her phone so she can look back and see how far she's come.

Remember ... Carole studied hard and cheaply, before getting on the 'DWTS' set ... picking up her ballroom basics by watching video tutorials on YouTube.

With some rehearsals under her belt, we're told Carole is mostly focusing on dance steps and staying on tempo when she's home alone.

Carole's costume for her first number will have no feathers or fur, and our sources describe the outfit as a "sunset" with a lot of "cattitude" ... whatever that means.

We're told Carole instantly fell in love with the getup ... and she's already asked producers if she will be allowed to keep it or purchase it after the show, but producers haven't indicated a final decision.

Joe Exotic's team has great timing -- or awful, depending on your perspective -- as they're handing his pardon request to President Trump on a day when there's A LOT going on in the Oval Office.

The Tiger Team leader, Eric Love, flew into D.C. Wednesday night with Joe's lawyers, packing a 257-page document he calls 4 months worth of hard work ... and he tells us it fully proves Joe's innocent.

As Eric says, this is the team's second major attempt to grab the President's attention ... but this time around they have more than a huge bus to persuade him to pardon Joe, and are even more optimistic about their pitch.

We asked him if going to the White House as the President's embroiled in controversy over his recorded convos with Bob Woodward was a good idea.  Eric thinks this timing could work in Joe's favor, and Trump's too.

As we first told you, Joe's 257-page case argues various reasons why he should be pardoned from his 22-year murder-for-hire sentence ... including a claim that he was sexually assaulted behind bars.

Love apparently has an in at the White House to deliver the goods, and he tells us Joe is so focused on the mission, he's even moved past hating on his rival Carole Baskin ... and wishes her well on "Dancing with the Stars."

Lily Allen and David Harbour did indeed get hitched in Las Vegas this weekend, and they did it right ... with an Elvis impersonator officiant and everything.

The couple tied the knot on Labor Day, according to their marriage certificate, and the singer-songwriter and the "Stranger Things" star shared a few pics of their ceremony from the Graceland Wedding Chapel. Classic!

The lovebirds look totally smitten and full of joy inside the chapel -- with Elvis singing away -- and outside on a Vegas street as Lily showed off her vintage white wedding dress and veil.

Apparently, a day full of love and marriage in Sin City works up your appetite ... Lily and the fam chowed down on some In-N-Out after the nuptials.

We broke the story ... David and Lily obtained a marriage license Sunday in Vegas, the first indication they were about to seal the deal.

Up until recently, they've been very private about being together -- with Lily revealing their engagement via a selfie back in May -- but they're letting it all out now.

David even pointed out that wildfires ravaging California and a pandemic affecting the whole world couldn't stop them from becoming husband and wife.

Joe Exotic says he's having a rough go in prison, but his fashion line is doing much better ... his underwear collection is selling like hotcakes, thanks in part to his nemesis, Carole Baskin.

The 'Tiger King' star had another successful fashion drop for his "REVENGE" collection with Odaingerous ... Joe's custom boxer briefs went on sale Labor Day and sold out within hours, raking in $50,000 in online sales!!!

The top seller, we're told, is the limited edition "Casket Baskin" boxer brief ... which depicts blood-red ice cream in a cone reminiscent of Baskin-Robbins.

While the first wave of underwear was cleaned out in a nanosecond, Odaingerous is updating its online store and restocking due to the extra traffic, as folks clamor for all things Exotic.

Joe's boxers are going international too -- the "REVENGE" collection just put up 3 billboards in Mexico, as 'Tiger King' continues to gain popularity beyond President Trump's favorite "wall."

Speaking of Trump, Joe's legal team is trekking back to D.C. to try to get him a Presidential pardon. Joe's laying out myriad reasons why Trump should pardon his 22-year murder-for-hire sentence ... including a claim he was sexually assaulted behind bars -- something the Federal Bureau of Prisons denies.

Joe Exotic has submitted a 257-page case to Donald Trump -- arguing various reasons why he should be pardoned from his 22-year murder-for-hire sentence -- claiming he was sexually assaulted behind bars.

Joe included a letter he sent to Donald Trump Jr. in his documents, in which he claims, "I have been sexually assaulted by jail staff, beat up and tied in a chair to the point the skin came off my arms." He goes on to say, "please be my hero ... my hands are damaged from the abuse in jail so I'm sorry for the soppy (sic) writing and spelling" and adding this ... "#TrumpJr.2024." We reached out to the prison for comment ... so far, no word back.

Joe says he fears he'll die in prison before his scheduled 2037 release, because his health is compromised because of various medical issues, including anemia and common variable immune deficiency.

Joe submitted various character references, including one from Kerri Walker, whose cousin worked at the zoo. She makes an appeal to Trump, saying Joe got a raw deal, just like Trump did with the "grab-'em-by-the-p***y" tape.

Joe goes on to say he never tried to kill Carole Baskin, and that all the so-called threats he made against her were just "hyperbole." His lawyers say in the docs, obtained by TMZ, the "threats" were "simply another aspect of his showmanship ... Joe's jokes, at most, in bad taste, were merely jokes."

Joe also insists he's been "railroaded and betrayed, repeatedly" ... blaming Jeff Lowe, the judge and others. He says the $3k he forked over to the alleged hitman was not to pay for a hit ... it was to get the guy out of his hair.

Joe also believes one of the reasons he was convicted was because of anti-gay sentiments.

He admits to shooting some tigers that were ill, saying that was the humane way of euthanizing them.

And Joe's husband, Dillon Passage, wrote a letter saying Joe saved him from addiction. Passage wrote ... "I see a sweet, big heart man, with good intentions, who took a few steps down a dark road, and he's just waiting to be pulled out of it."

Joe makes his plea to President Trump, saying, "Allow me to make you proud, to make America proud, to make the world proud. Be my hero please."

TMZ broke the story ... Joe's team is flying to D.C. Wednesday where Eric Love, who's leading the charge for Joe, will present the pardon application to someone he knows in The White House.

Carole Baskin studied hard, and cheaply, before "Dancing With the Stars" ... picking up her ballroom basics by watching video tutorials online.

Sources close to Carole tell TMZ ... she immediately turned to YouTube for help after finding out she was going to be on the upcoming season of 'DWTS' -- and she started with the biggies: salsa, cha-cha and the Venezuelan waltz.

We're told she also enlisted the help of a cool cat ... or kitten -- one of her Big Cat Rescue members teaches dance, and gave Carole some tips.

Let's be real, she needs all the help she can get ... other than her infamous dance clip submission for the Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande music video, we're told Carole has zero dance experience.

Our sources say Carole also signed up for a virtual training app in June, with the music-based training helping her get used to being on tempo. Turns out that's important for dancing.

Carole's looking slim at 'DWTS' rehearsals ... our sources say she lost 20 lbs since shooting 'Tiger King' and is down to 165.

We're told Carole has been on a vegan diet and only eats 2 meals a day. She's also riding her bike 10 miles a day, 7 days a week, and doing a lot of squats, lunges and leaps ... and seeing results.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have their new calling after quitting their British royal day jobs -- and it's similar to her old one ... they're big-time Hollywood producers!!!

Harry and Meghan announced their new careers Wednesday, 6 months after leaving the royal fam and settling in California, they're going to make content for Netflix.

The Duke and Duchess inked a multiyear deal with the streaming service, and the still-unnamed production company they founded will get a bunch of Netflix dough to make movies, scripted shows, documentaries, docu-series and children's programming.

Forget the royal family, Harry and Meghan have found their own global platform in Tinseltown. Netflix has tons of reach, with 193 million subscribers across the globe.

Harry and Meghan will mostly be working behind the cameras, but they might appear on screen in documentaries. Meghan's also open to voice-over work -- as we know from her Disney project last year -- but she's made it clear she doesn't plan to get back into acting. At least, that's her plan for now.

Joe Exotic is launching an underwear collection from behind bars ... and the 'Tiger King' has his mug plastered across the fly!!!

The boxer briefs are part of Joe's "REVENGE" collection with streetwear brand Odaingerous ... and this fashion drop is pretty damn bold.

As you can see, there are some fun options ... one's got Joe's face on the crotch of some leopard print, another's a bright orange tiger print and there's also a mix of tiger print and baby blue, not to mention red tiger print. Pretty much what you would expect from Joe the fashionista.

Hawking outrageous underwear is kinda Joe's thing ... back in 2013, long before his Netflix fame, he started selling 'Tiger King' undies ... but they didn't have his face on them.

If Joe's previous "REVENGE" capsules are an indication, these boxer briefs are gonna sell like hotcakes ... remember, his soft launch in May sold out in a matter of hours and raked in over $20,000 in online sales.

Odaingerous says the boxer briefs are 100% cotton to keep "your unmentionables fashionably stylish and secure."

Consider this a very hard launch, with a very significant date ... the boxer briefs go on sale Sept. 7 -- the 2-year anniversary of Joe's arrest.

This is what it's like when reality dating show worlds collide -- a lot of scandal over nothing ... according to sources close to "Love is Blind" couple Damian Powers and Giannina Gibelli.

Fans of the show, along with fans of "Too Hot to Handle" star Francesca Farago, were a bit stunned when a scantily clad Francesca left a trendy L.A. restaurant Tuesday night while holding onto Damian's arm ... lots of folks thought he and Giannina were dunzo.

Turns out ... it's all still status quo. We're told Damian and Giannina are still together and still in love ... he and Francesca are just friends, and Giannina's cool with that.

Our sources say Damian and Francesca share the same lawyer and management team, and their Tuesday outing was actually with the lawyer ... along with a couple of Francesca's friends.

Fact is, it's pretty common for these reality TV stars to run in the same circles and mingle ... which is what went down Tuesday night.

As "Love is Blind" followers know, Damian and Giannina were fan favorites but didn't end up getting hitched after D got cold feet. However, they reconciled right after the show and have been solid ever since.