Drake Bell is opening up about the alleged sexual abuse he experienced as a child actor on Nickelodeon.
The actor shares his story on the upcoming Investigation Discovery docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, scheduled to air on March 17 and 18. In the docuseries, Bell claims that he was sexually abused when he was 15 by dialogue coach Brian Peck, who worked on All That and The Amanda Show. Bell was an actor on both sketch comedy shows before landing his own sitcom with Josh Peck (no relation) on Drake & Josh.
In 2003, Brian Peck was arrested on charges of lewd acts with a minor and oral copulation of a person under 16. In 2004, Peck spent 16 months in prison, and upon release, was ordered to register as a sex offender. Until now, Bell went undisclosed as the minor in the case.
In his adulthood, Bell has dealt with his own controversies, from DUIs and financial troubles, to accusations of domestic abuse and charges of child endangerment.
Peck, who is also a former actor, appeared on two episodes of Boy Meets World, where he subsequently befriended Will Friedle and Danielle Fishel. Last month on the Pod Meets World podcast, the two discussed being asked to provide a statement to Quiet on Set about how they defended Peck prior to his 2004 sentencing. During Peck's court case, the two wrote letters of support to the judge presiding over the case and even attended the court hearing.
"We’re sitting in that courtroom on the wrong side of everything … The victim’s mother turned and said, ‘Look at all the famous people you brought with you. And it doesn’t change what you did to my kid,’” Friedle said at the time. “I just sat there wanting to die. It was like, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ It was horrifying all the way around.”
Quiet on Set airs on March 17 and 18 via Investigation Discovery, and will be available to stream on several platforms.
