Hollywood actor Drake Bell, the star of the popular show ‘Drake and Josh’, has been sentenced to two years’ probation and 200 hours of community service after pleading guilty to charges of attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
According to Variety, after initially pleading not guilty, Bell later did accept a felony and misdemeanour charge relating to a 2017 incident with an underage girl who met him online and attended one of his concerts in Ohio when she was 15.
The police said that the meeting followed months of social media messages that were "at times ... sexual in nature.” The victim reported Bell to Toronto police in 2018, who then forwarded their findings to Cleveland police, who arrested Bell on June 3.
After pleading not guilty, Bell was freed on a USD 2,500 personal bond ordering him to have no contact with the victim. Bell, who is a resident of West Hollywood, will complete his 200 hours of community service in California. He faced up to two years in prison. In 2015, the actor was arrested for a DUI with bail set at USD 20,000. In that case, he had pleaded no contest to a misdemeanour and spent four days in jail.
‘Drake and Josh’, which debuted in 2004 and ran for four seasons followed the story of stepbrothers Drake Parker (Bell) and Josh Nichols (Josh Peck). The series further spawned two TV movies and was one of Nickelodeon’s highest-rated programs, averaging about 3 million viewers at the time.
Bell had performed the show’s opening theme song, ‘I Found a Way’, and has also released several albums throughout his career, including 2005’s ‘Telegraph’, 2006’s ‘It’s Only Time’, 2014’s ‘Ready Steady Go!’ and 2020’s ‘Sesiones En Casa’.
