Former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell pleaded guilty in Ohio on a felony charge of attempting to endanger children and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating material harmful to juveniles.
Bell, whose legal name is Jared, was arrested by Cleveland police earlier this month. The charges involved a girl who met Bell online and attended his concert in Cleveland in 2017. The girl was 15 at the time and Bell was 31.
Bell, now 34, pled guilty via Zoom on Wednesday and will be sentenced on July 12. He could receive a prison sentence of up to 18 months for the felony charge, with a fine as high as $5,000. The misdemeanor charge carries a sentence of up to six months in county jail and a fine up to $1,000.
According to Cuyahoga County’s FOX 8 News, which first reported the news of Bell’s arrest, the actor “allegedly engaged in an inappropriate chat with the victim that, at times, was sexual in nature.” Court records list the date of Bell’s alleged offense as Dec. 1, 2017.
Bell, known for the Nickelodeon series “Drake & Josh” and “The Amanda Show,” was previously sentenced to 96 hours in jail following a 2015 arrest for driving under the influence in Glendale, Calif. Last August, the actor was accused of physical and verbal abuse by his ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt in a series of TikTok videos; Bell has denied the accusations.