‘Drake & Josh’ Star Drake Bell Arrested In Ohio, Pleads Not Guilty To Attempted Child Endangerment

Cuyahoga County Jail

Drake Bell, who played Drake in the Nickelodeon series ‘Drake & Josh’, was arrested in Ohio on June 3 and charged with attempted endangerment of a child. See his mugshot, here.

UPDATE (6/23/21, 4:45 PM ET): Actor Drake Bell is now facing two years in jail for his June 3 arrest, for which he was charged with attempted endangerment of a child. The former Nickelodeon star faces once charge of attempted endangerment of a child and the other for disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, per court documents. Drake originally intended to plead “not guilty” prior during his June 23 virtual hearing, but changed his plea. “All questions will be answered at sentencing, including why Mr. Bell chose to enter today’s plea,” the Drake & Josh star’s attorney shared EXCLUSIVELY with HollywoodLife.

ORIGINAL: Drake Bell, 34, plead not guilty after he was arrested and charged with attempted endangerment of a child and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles in Ohio on June 3, HollywoodLife has confirmed. Cleveland’s Fox TV affiliate, WJW, was first to report the news and they claim that the allegations stem from a Dec. 1, 2017, internet chat with an underage person that, at times, “was sexual in nature”. WJW also claims the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said the alleged victim, 15, filed a report with her local police department in Canada in October 2018. The incident allegedly happened in Cleveland one year prior.

After Canadian authorities allegedly contacted Cleveland police, they conducted an investigation into the allegations, WJW further reports. WJW goes on to claim that the investigation revealed that the victim established a relationship with Drake a few years prior. She then attended a Cleveland concert of his in December 2017.

At that concert “[Drake] Bell violated his duty of care and, in doing so, created a risk of harm to the victim,” the Prosecutor’s Office reported, according to WJW. The investigation also reportedly revealed that Drake allegedly sent the victim inappropriate social media messages in the months leading up to the concert.

The former Drake & Josh star was arraigned in Cuyahoga County court — Drake was in Cleveland to perform at The Odeon Concert Club — and is now free on a $2,500 personal bond. Drake also agreed to have no contact with the alleged victim in the case. His arrest comes after a May 21 indictment.

HollywoodLife has reached out to both Drake’s reps and police for a statement on the actor’s arrest. Drake’s lawyer told us, “All facts will be revealed in the courtroom. There is no additional comments at this time.” A pretrial hearing is scheduled for June 23.

Drake Bell shot to stardom after starring in Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh, which aired from 2004 to 2007. The show featured both him and his co-star, Josh Peck, and they played stepbrothers. Drake previously expressed interest in doing a reboot of the show, during an EXCLUSIVE interview with HollywoodLife.