Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell facing child endangerment charges

NBC NEWS – Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell was charged in Ohio with attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to children, online court records show.

Bell, whose real first name is Jared, pleaded not guilty to both charges, NBC News reports. He is scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing on June 23. Bond was set at $2,500, which Bell posted.

According to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, a 15-year-old female victim from Canada filed a report at her home police department describing an incident between her and Bell in Cleveland in December 2017.

Cleveland police investigated and concluded that the teen had “established a relationship with Bell several years prior [and] attended his concert in December 2017.”

“While there, Bell violated his duty of care and, in doing so, created a risk of harm to the victim,” the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said. The Cleveland police investigation also revealed that Bell sent “inappropriate social media messages” to the teen.

Bell did not immediately respond to a NBC News request for comment.

A spokesperson for Bell’s attorney, Ian Friedman, confirmed the two charges and said “all the facts will be revealed in the courtroom.”

Bell was the star of “Drake and Josh,” a Nickelodeon TV show about teen brothers, according to NBC News.

Last August, musician Jimi Ono accused Bell of dating abuse in a TikTok video.

Bell denied the abuse allegations and said as his and Ono’s relationship ended, they “both called each other terrible names, as often happens when couples are breaking up.”

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