Drake Bell speaks out after being reported missing and endangered by police
Former Nickelodeon star recently completed probation after pleading guilty in attempted child endangerment case
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Your support makes all the difference.Drake & Josh star Drake Bell has made light of the situation after briefly being reported missing and endangered by Florida police.
The Daytona Beach Police Department posted an alert on their Facebook page on Thursday (13 April) saying the former Nickelodeon star – real name Jared Bell – was “considered missing and endangered”.
Soon after the post was shared, the police confirmed it was in contact with Bell and that he was safe.
“You leave your phone in the car and don’t answer for the night and this?” Bell tweeted about the ordeal alongside a crying-laughing face emoji.
Bell recently completed a two-year probation sentence on charges he faced after he pled guilty to child endangerment in June 2021.
Allegations against Bell were made by a then 19-year-old woman, who reported the actor to police in 2018, accusing him of grooming her since she was 12.
During the trial, via Zoom, she called the actor “the epitome of evil”, claiming their conversations became “blatantly sexual” when she turned 15.
She added that the pair exchanged explicit photos and Bell sexually abused her while she was underage.
“Jared Drake Bell is a paedophile and that is his legacy,” she concluded her statement.
Bell’s lawyers disputed claims of pictures being exchanged and sexual abuse, claiming that there was no evidence.
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Delivering his sentence, Ohio judge Timothy McCormick said that “the fact of the matter is your position and celebrity status let you nurture this relationship… you were able to gain access to this child”.
Bell said: “I accept this plea because my conduct was wrong.
“I’m sorry that the victim was harmed in any way, but that was obviously not my intention. I have taken this matter very, very seriously. And again, I just want to apologise to her and anyone else who may have been affected by my actions.”
In 2020, Bell legally changed his surname to Campana, the Spanish word for “bell”.