Drake Bell Faces Two Years Behind Bars In Connection With Case Involving Teenage Girl

Former Nickelodeon actor Jared Drake Bell could be sentenced to as much as two years in an Ohio prison after taking a plea deal in connection with an incident that involved a teenage girl he met and communicated with online and later in person.

During a June 23 pretrial hearing held on Zoom, Bell, 35, pleaded guilty in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to attempted child endangerment, a felony, and disseminating material harmful to children, a misdemeanor.

On December 1, 2017, Bell, now a musician who goes by the name Drake Campana, was performing at the Odeon Concert Club in Cleveland. While authorities have not publicly specified what occurred at the venue, they claimed Bell, then 31, met with a 15-year-old girl he had been in contact with on social media — allegedly including via inappropriate messages he sent her in the months leading up to the event, WKYC reported.

In 2018, the girl reported Bell to Canadian authorities, who then contacted police in Cleveland. Bell was arrested in early June 2021 and released after posting bail.

Bell “violated his duty of care” when he met with the teenager at the concert and, “in doing so, created a risk of harm to the victim,” prosecutors said, according to The New York Times.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 12.