Drake Bell, a former Nickelodeon star, was convicted in July to two years of probation and community service. He was pleading guilty to charges emanating from his internet interactions with a minor. claimed in a new Instagram video that he didn’t know the fan’s age at the time of their virtual connection and that when he realized it, “all conversation and communication stopped.”
In his first non-courtroom public statement to the matter, the former Drake & Josh actor claims, “I responded to a fan whose age I didn’t know. When I became aware of their age, all conversation and communication stopped.” He went on to say that the fan “continued to come to shows and pay for meet and greets,” and that he had no idea that the individual he saw on those occasions was the same one with whom he had stopped conversing.
Drake Bell on the sexual accuse against him
Drake Bell claims in the video that “there were no sexual images, nothing physical” were exchanged between him and his accuser. He claims, “I was not charged with anything physical, I was not charged with the disseminating of photographs or images or anything like that. This is strictly over text messages.”
In the video, Drake Bell admits that his actions were “reckless and irresponsible.”
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Drake Bell’s accuser statement
The now-19-year-old woman gave an impact statement in a tense hearing held via Zoom by Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in July. She accused the actor and singer of having sexual contact with her when she was 15 years old at a backstage meeting in Cleveland, calling Drake Bell “a monster and a menace to children.”
Drake Bell, on the other hand, pleaded guilty to no offenses involving physical contact. “It’s not me telling you that the claims are false,” Drake Bell, 35, says in his latest video, “but the state of Ohio has proven the claims to be false. If these claims were remotely true, my situation would be very different. I would not be here at home with my wife and my son.”
Drake Bell’s lawyer made a similar argument at the July hearing, pointing out that no proof had been presented to back up the accuser’s assertions of nude images being shared. Attorney Ian Friedman also refuted the victim’s story of sexual encounters backstage and in the actor’s hotel room, pointing out that other adults were present at all times.
Cuyahoga County Judge Timothy McCormick called the now-19-year-old accuser’s courtroom charges “serious and disturbing” during the sentencing hearing, but added that he “can’t lose focus on what was pled to. The fact of the matter is your position and celebrity status let you nurture this relationship. You were able to gain access to this child.”
Drake Bell’s sentence
Drake Bell originally declared not guilty to the allegations, but changed his mind in June and entered a guilty plea to a felony charge of attempted child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of transmitting material harmful to minors. Bell was sentenced to two years of probation and a one-year suspended prison term, as well as 200 hours of community service.
Drake Bell says in the video, “When I was presented with a plea deal because of the messages, I felt that it was the best way to get this over quickly and for everybody involved to be able to move on and for me to get back to doing what I love, and that’s making music for you.”
Despite media reports, Drake Bell claims that he never officially changed his identity or relocated to Mexico. ” Don’t believe the media right off the bat,” he adds at the end of the video. “It’s a lot of clickbait. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions?”
