![[L] Drake Bell attends the Thirst Project's Inaugural Legacy Summit held at Pepperdine University on July 20, 2019 in Malibu, California. [R] Kyle Massey at the Men's Fitness Game Changers event at Goldstein Residence on September 28, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.](https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2021/07/4875B256-7E30-4E80-BF26-FB2F0F2C0A40-scaled-e1625177949193.jpeg?fit=crop&ar=16%3A9&w=2048&auto=format&ixlib=react-9.3.0 "Drake Bell/Kyle Massey")
Drake Bell, former star of Nickelodeon shows like “Drake and Josh” and “The Amanda Show,” pleaded guilty last week to attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office in Ohio announced.
County spokesman Tyler Sinclair said the charges stem from an incident in 2017 where Bell allegedly engaged in conversations of a sexual nature with a 15-year-old fan over private messages on social media.
According to Fox, “The child actor was informed by the judge that attempted endangering children, a felony of the fourth degree, carries a maximum sentence of anywhere between six to 18 months in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000. Disseminating matter harmful to juveniles is a first-degree misdemeanor and carries a sentence of up to six months in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000.”
His sentencing hearing is set for July 12 in Cleveland.
Bell isn’t the only former child star facing charges for sending inappropriate material to children. Former Disney Channel star Kyle Massey, 35, was arrested on similar charges this week. The lead on “Cory in the House,” a spinoff of “That’s so Raven,” allegedly sent pornographic material to a 13-year-old girl over Snapchat at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019.
Massey’s lawyers denied the charges in a statement to Variety, saying:
“It is unfortunate that Kyle Massey had to learn through the media yesterday that the 2019 allegations have resurfaced in the State of Washington a year after their dismissal.”
“Massey claims that the allegations then and now are extortive. The statements made to the police regarding the accuser’s own counsel’s advice seem peculiar tearing away the veracity from the stale allegations. The accusers in no hidden agenda attempt to use the Washington courts as a platform for revenge after losing the civil matter,” the attorney continued. “Indeed, California counsel withdrew from representation from the accuser leaving us to conclude that he was not willing to make misrepresentations to the court. The Washington matter is already showing problematic signs. Massey was never properly served or notified as represented to the court and the pleadings are procedurally and substantively deficient on its face.”
The charges come at a time when both Disney and Nickelodeon are under fire for targeting children with sexually-themed material in honor of Pride month. The two networks, which target underage viewers, have featured LGBTQ programming led by drag queen Nina West.
Disney featured a “This Is Me: Pride Celebration Spectacular” concert in which West and a host of former Disney child stars sang along with Kermit the Frog, reworking classic Disney songs to celebrate LGBTQ lifestyles.
Nickelodeon’s off-shoot channel for pre-schoolers, Nick Jr., showcased a cartoon Blues Clue’s Pride parade of gay, non-binary, pansexual, and transgender animals singing about their sexual preferences. In this case, one beaver even appeared to sport post-operative mastectomy scars indicating the removal of breasts. The parade finishes with the lyric, “Love is love is love, you see, and everyone should love proudly and we’ll all go marching in the big parade!”