As reported by Consequence of Sound, former child star, Drake Bell has pleaded guilty to felony attempted child endangerment, as well as a misdemeanour charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
As per the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, Bell was 34 years old when he engaged in the inappropriate online relationship with his accuser who was 15 years old at the time.
She also attended one of his concerts in Cleveland where she reported an incident, with their relationship being labeled by prosecutors as “at times, was sexual in nature,” and also that he “violated his duty of care and, in doing so, created a risk of harm to the victim.”
Approximately three weeks ago, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office revealed that a 15-year-old female alleged victim filed a report with her local police department in Canada in October 2018.
At the hearing, Bell was released on a USD $2,500 bond and ordered to appear in court again on Wednesday, 23rd June for a pre-trial hearing.
“(An) investigation revealed that the victim, who had established a relationship with Bell several years prior, attended his concert in December 2017,” Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
“While there, Bell violated his duty of care and, in doing so, created a risk of harm to the victim. The investigation also revealed that months leading up to the concert, Bell sent the victim inappropriate social media messages.”
Bell’s attorney Ian Friedman has declined requests from the media to comment on the case. Bell had remained active on social media around the time of his first court hearing however he has also yet to publicly comment on the charges.
He also posted a video six hours ago from the time of this article being published.
You can read more about this topic over at the Film & TV Observer.
