Two months after he was sentenced to two years of probation following his guilty plea to child endangerment charges, Drake Bell has addressed the public regarding his actions.
The 35-year-old actor, known for his role on the Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh, took to Instagram on Friday to tell fans that he owes them “an explanation.”
“Most of the news you’ve heard recently is entirely false and wrong,” Bell said in an IG video. “I feel that you deserve, and I owe you, an explanation.”
He continued, “I know that this has moved very quickly for you, but for me, it’s been a three-year, through investigation into every false claim that has been made. And, it’s not me telling you that the claims are false, but the state of Ohio has proven the claims to be false. If these claims were remotely true, my situation would be very different. I would not be here at home with my wife and with my son. But that being said, I am not perfect, and I make mistakes.”
Bell went on to say that he responded to a fan without knowing their age, and stopped communication with her once learning that she was a minor.
“This individual continued to come to shows and pay for meet and greets, all while I was unaware that this was the same person I was communicating with online, and that’s what I plead guilty to,” he said. “It was reckless and irresponsible text messages. I want to make clear there were no sexual images, nothing physical between me and this individual.”
Drake’s comments arrive three months after he was arrested and charged with crimes against children. After pleading guilty to one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles and one count of attempted endangering children, Bell was sentenced in July to two years of probation and a suspended one-year jail sentence.
“Today I accept this plea because my conduct was wrong,” he told the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas courtroom. “I’m sorry that the victim was harmed in any way—that was obviously not my intention. I have taken this matter very very seriously, and again I just want to apologize to her and anyone else who may have been affected by my actions.”
