- Drake Bell found fame playing Drake Parker on the Nickelodeon’s “Drake and Josh”
- The 34-year-old actor was taken into custody after being indicted on two charges involving a minor
- Bell pleaded not guilty Thursday
Drake Bell, known for his role as Drake Parker on the Nickelodeon sitcom “Drake and Josh,” has been indicted on two charges involving a minor.
The 34-year-old actor, whose full name is Jared Drake Bell, was taken into custody by Cleveland Police, according to a Cuyahoga County case summary. His mugshot was timestamped on Thursday but no date of arrest was given.
Bell was indicted by a grand jury May 21 on two charges: disseminating harmful matter to juveniles and attempted child endangerment. Bell pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges regarding a girl he had met online and who attended his 2017 concert in Ohio when she was 15.
Tyler Sinclair, spokesperson for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, said the girl filed a complaint with Canadian police in October 2018. Police there contacted Cleveland police, prompting an investigation.
The attempted endangering children charge relates to the concert, Sinclair said, where Bell “violated his duty of care” and created a risk of harm to the victim. He didn’t elaborate further.
Bell and the girl had “developed a relationship” online several years prior to the concert, Sinclair said. The disseminating harmful material charge concerns Bell having sent the girl “inappropriate social media messages,” Sinclair said.
The court set Bell’s bond to $2,500 Thursday on conditionshe would not contact the alleged victim, and he posted bail the same day. A pretrial conference is set to take place June 23 after being previously set to June 17.
Bell’s attorney Ian Friedman declined to comment on the charges. USA TODAY has reached out to the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center for comment.
‘I am reviewing my legal options’: Drake Bell denies abuse allegations from ex-girlfriend
Bell faced abuse allegations from his ex-girlfriend in August. In a TikTok video posted Aug. 12 , which is no longer public, Melissa Lingafelt, who also goes by Jimi Ono on social media, claimed the actor verbally and physically abused her during their two-year relationship when she was 16.
Lingafelt, who is a few years younger than Bell, is now 31. People reported the relationship began in 2006.
“This is my truth. I hope this message reaches young girls, and that no one has to go through what I did,” she captioned the video, which garnered more than 4.3 million views.
In a statement to USA TODAY provided by spokesperson Janet Von in August, Bell denied the claims, saying he “never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video.
“As our relationship ended — more than a decade ago — we, unfortunately, both called each other terrible names, as often happens when couples are breaking up. But that is it,” he said. “Clearly, Melissa still felt close enough to me just last year that she was comfortable reaching out to ask me to provide her with financial support during a tough time (which I did).”
Contributing: Sara Moniuszko and The Associated Press
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