‘Drake & Josh’ star Drake Bell charged with crimes against children
Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell, who played Drake in the teen sitcom “Drake & Josh,” was arrested in Ohio and charged with crimes against children, police told the Daily News on Friday.
The actor faces one count of attempted endangerment of a child and one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, though it was not immediately clear what prompted those charges.
Court records show Bell was indicted on May 21 and taken into custody Thursday over a December 2017 incident in Cleveland. He’s out on $2,500 bond and is expected to face a judge on June 23, according to Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts.
Bell, 34, has pleaded not guilty.
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The Santa Ana, Calif., native, whose full name is Jared Drake Bell, starred in the popular Nickelodeon show from 2004 to 2007. He’s also a musician and had a recurring role on Amanda Bynes’ variety series “The Amanda Show.”
This is not the first time the actor is accused of breaking the law. In 2015, he was sentenced to four days behind bars for driving under the influence. It was his second DUI conviction in six years.
A spokesman for the Cleveland Division of Police could not release any details about the new arrest. Bell’s attorney was not available for comment Friday afternoon, but a representative for his office said the facts in the case would “be revealed in the courtroom.”
In Ohio, the attempted child endangerment charge is filed against offenders who “create a substantial risk to the health or safety of the child, by violating a duty of care, protection, or support.”
The second charge Bell faces is used against those who “directly sell, deliver, furnish, disseminate, provide, exhibit, rent, or present to a juvenile, a group of juveniles, a law enforcement officer posing as a juvenile, or a group of law enforcement officers posing as juveniles any material or performance that is obscene or harmful to juveniles,” according to Ohio state law.
