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Drake Bell is addressing his prior guilty plea for “crimes against a child” almost three years in the past. The former Nickelodeon star was sentenced to 2 years’ probation by an Ohio decide in 2021 after pleading guilty to legal expenses involving a minor.
Now, Bell is shedding mild on why he pleaded guilty although he stands behind the notion that the allegations made in opposition to him had been “not true.”
“I responded on some DMs and was incredibly irresponsible and got myself into conversations that I shouldn’t have had,” Bell stated Tuesday on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast episode.
NICKELODEON FORMER CHILD STAR EXPOSES ALLEGED SEX ABUSE IN BOMBSHELL DOCUMENTARY
“Drake & Josh” star Drake Bell says his prior guilty plea for “crimes against a child” was skewed as a result of he was financially “devastated.” (Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Mulholland Drive Entertainment on behalf of Sabra Dipping Co)
“I ended up finding out that I was talking to someone that I shouldn’t have been talking to, and it snowballed into these allegations that were not true, and it just turned into this big thing,” he continued.
In 2021, the feminine sufferer was 19 and accused Bell of being a pedophile. She additionally accused him of sexual misconduct on two events, and of sending her “blatantly” sexual pictures and messages when she was a teen.
“I had just had a son, and I didn’t want to put my family through all of this anymore,” Bell stated on the podcast. “I ended up going through the process the way that I did. Very regretful.”
Drake Bell pleaded guilty in 2021 to 1 felony and one misdemeanor cost involving a minor. (Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office through AP)
Bell stated he stopped communication with the younger lady after three years of contact when he came upon she was 15 years previous.
“I was doing everything I could to kind of keep my distance,” Bell informed podcast host Amanda Hirsch. “A lot of the things she said about sending inappropriate pictures and things like this, it was able to be investigated and show that none of that existed.”
Bell defined that he is since taken “responsibility” for “having those conversations” with a minor.
Drake Bell seems within the docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.” (Christopher Polk)
“There’s just so much that I’ve had to deal with, and through that, like I said, not having the tools or not knowing how to process things, I made a lot of decisions in my life that I shouldn’t have made and hurt a lot of people,” he stated.
DRAKE BELL CLAIMS SEXUAL ABUSE AT NICKELODEON BY CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER
“But now, where I am in my life now, I think that I’m finally at a place where I can process and deal with this through therapy, that I’ve been through and actively going through, unearthing all of these things and being able to face them head-on for, really, the first time in my life.”
In the bombshell docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” which debuted in March, Bell opened up for the primary time in regards to the alleged sexual abuse he skilled by the hands of Brian Peck, a dialogue coach and actor ceaselessly employed by Nickelodeon.
Brian Peck was convicted of a lewd act in opposition to a child and oral copulation of an individual below 16 in 2003. He spent 16 months in jail. (Albert L. Ortega)
Bell starred on “The Amanda Show” and “Drake & Josh” throughout his time with Nickelodeon, the place he encountered and was allegedly abused by Brian Peck (no relation to Bell’s co-star Josh Peck).
Bell recalled the day the connection went from uncomfortable to full-blown assault and abuse.
“I was sleeping on the couch where I would usually sleep, and I woke up to him … I opened my eyes, I woke up and he was sexually assaulting me. And I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react,” Bell stated. “And I had no idea how to get out of the situation. … What do I do, call my mom, ‘Hey, can you come pick me up? This just happened, I’ll sit here and wait.’ I had no car, I didn’t drive. I was 15 at this time.”
Drake Bell, left, and Josh Peck starred on Nickelodeon’s “Drake & Josh.” (Getty Images)
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He continued, “The abuse was extensive. And it got pretty brutal, pretty brutal. I don’t know, I really don’t know how to elaborate on that on camera really.”
When requested by a producer what he would really feel snug speaking about, Bell stated, “Why don’t you do this, why don’t you think of the worst stuff that someone can do to somebody as a sexual assault and that’ll answer your question. I don’t know how else to put it. It was not a one-time thing.”
Peck was arrested in August 2003, and court docket paperwork within the documentary present excerpts that point out lewd or lascivious acts with a child, sodomy, forcible penetration, utilizing a overseas object, employment of minor for pornography, and oral copulation with a minor.
Drake Bell accused Brian Peck of sexually abusing him prior to starring on “Drake & Josh.” (Michael Tran)
During the docuseries, Nickelodeon supplied a press release included on the finish of every episode relating to the allegations.
“In response to producers’ questions, Nickelodeon has stated it ‘investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace…[W]e have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience,'” their remark reads.
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Nickelodeon issued a press release to Fox News Digital relating to the alleged behaviors on previous manufacturing units.
Drake Bell stated the “abuse was extensive” by Brian Peck. (G. Gershoff/WireImage)
“Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct,” the assertion stated. “Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crews, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”
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The fifth episode of “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” premieres Sunday on ID.
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