Drake Bell has been sentenced by an Ohio court to two years of probation following charges of attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
Listen to your favorite music now on Audacy
According to CNN, the sentence was given after Bell’s victim gave a lengthy statement to the court via video conference. The woman, now 19, said she met Bell through her aunt when she was 12. In her statement, the woman said she was 15 when she exchanged text messages of a sexual nature with Bell.
Related
"He was a hero to me," she said. "Every night I dread going to sleep because I don't want to see him in my nightmares," she said. In her statement, the woman said Bell sexually assaulted her on two occasions. Bell denied these allegations through his attorney.
"His conduct was not correct, it was not proper," Bell’s attorney, Ian Friedman, said in a statement. said. "But I have to be very clear. What the victim is claiming to have occured here -- not only am I saying that it did not happen, not only would Mr. Bell say that that did not happen, but the evidence in this case would suggest that it did not happen."
"We all know that this prosecutor's office would pursue child sex charges and go to great lengths, aggressively as they should, and we've seen it many times," Friedman continued. "If they felt that that was a provable case, I'm sure we would not be talking here today about an 'attempted child endangerment' (charge) and a 'disseminating matter harmful to a minor.'"
Bell, who pleaded guilty to charges of attempted endangering children and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, said in his statement “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."
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram