Source: Variety
Drake Campana, also known as Drake Bell, has been sentenced to 2 years probation and 200 hours of community service on Monday the 12th of July by Judge Timothy McCornick in an Ohio court. Just hours before he revealed he has a son and has been married since 2018, the famous child actor, singer, songwriter, musician and former star of Nickelodeon’s Drake and Josh pleaded guilty to child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. The California-born star started his career in the early 1990s as a child actor. Drake is best known for his role in Nickelodeon’s The Amanda Show and later Drake and Josh.
According to the victim, the harassment lasted for about four years, as it started when she was 15 years of age and is now 19. The victim, who spoke at length, accused him of grooming her since she was 12 as she felt loved and protected by him. She also talked about how she opened up to him about her mental struggles, how he made her feel safe, and how he adored her the way she did him. But by the time she became 15, their online chats had become blatantly sexual; the victim proceeded to talk about how she said she felt uncomfortable with the contents of their messages but was unable to react because she felt trapped as she had idolized Drake.
In her statements over Zoom, The victim said she had grown up being a fan of Drake Bell and met him through a mutual friend of her aunt when she was 12. She went further to say that she and Mr. Bell had exchanged sexual content online and even engaged in sexual activities on numerous occasions, including one of his concerts in Cleveland at a hotel.
However, Drake’s lawyer Ian Friedman disagreed. He argued that there was no exchange of explicit pictures and sexual contacts between both parties. He further stated that the victim attended nine more of Bell’s concerts after the Cleveland incident. The victim countered by raising three fingers, thereby indicating that she attended only three more concerts after Cleveland. Ian Friedman additionally stated that he is refuting the fact that it did not happen. He is also saying that the evidence in the case would indicate that it did not occur.
The 34-year-old star, who made his first appearance in a TV commercial at the tender age of 5, pleaded guilty to the allegations. He said he was sorry he harmed the victim in any way. He further stated that it wasn’t his intention, and he wanted to apologize to anyone his actions might have hurt. The judge, McCornicks, noted that an adult should not engage a minor in inappropriate texts, messages, and conversations. He said there’s a reason they are not allowed to vote, drive, or enroll in the armed forces and the reason is they’re not mentally or emotionally mature enough to gauge their conduct appropriately, which is how he (Drake) took advantage. While delivering the sentence, the judge addressed Friedman’s concerns on how the case would impact Drake’s career and stated that he hopes Drake is genuinely remorseful.
