Former Nickelodeon Star Drake Bell Sentenced For Child Endangerment

Drake Bell has been sentenced to two years probation and 200 hours of community service for charges of child endangerment.

Bell, known for starring in the children’s sitcom ‘Drake & Josh‘, was accused of exchanging sexually driven texts with a 15-year-old girl. His sentenced was carried out by a court in Ohio on Monday.

In a brief statement, Bell said he accepted the plea “because my conduct was wrong”. He added, “I’m sorry that the victim was harmed in any way but that was obviously not my intention.”

During sentencing the victim, who is now 19, delivered an impassioned statement (available through People), labelling Bell a “pedophile”. She said the 35-year-old actor began “grooming” her when she was 12, after meeting him through her aunt.

She explained that he was her “hero” from a young age, adding that she would have “done anything for him”.

The woman went on to describe how Bell’s behaviour and attitude towards her became “blatantly sexual” when she turned 15. She recalled one exchange in which Bell asked to know how old she was, telling her to “hurry up”.

“This eventually led to months of inappropriate messages and photos being exchanged over Instagram and Snapchat. The photos exchanged included photos of my body, and photos of his body and his genitals.” She said. “There were times where I felt really uncomfortable talking to him in such graphic sexual ways and wanting to be left alone. But I had a very hard time telling him that, because I was terrified of upsetting him.”

She went on to describe several instances where Bell had her perform oral sex, adding, “Had I not been menstruating, then he would have raped me.”

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