Drake Bell, known for his role in the Nickelodeon series "Drake & Josh," has pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to endanger children, and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
The actor was arrested earlier this year in connection with a 2017 incident in which he reportedly met up with a then 15-year-old girl after they had engaged in inappropriate social media messages for several months, according to Deadline. Details pertaining to that night in Cleveland are vague, but the two had allegedly known each other for years. The girl filed a report with authorities.
Bell initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but has since agreed to enter a plea deal. A livestream of his Wednesday virtual hearing was made available via local ABC affiliate News 5.
"My understanding is there's been a plea agreement reached where the defendant will plead guilty to count one attempted endangering children, a felony in the fourth degree [and] plead guilty to count two: disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, a misdemeanor the first degree," the judge said.
He then explained that a charge of attempted endangering children could come with up to 18 months in prison in monthly increments, and/or a fine of up to $5,000. The charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles carries a prison sentence of up to six months and/or a fine of $1,000.
"However, if you go to prison, upon your release, you could be subjected to a discretionary period of three years post-release control. Post-release control could involve restrictions on your activities," the judge said. "If you were to violate those restrictions, you can be returned to prison, [for] up to a maximum of one half of your original sentence."
Bell's sentencing hearing is set for July 12.
The actor's arrest comes weeks after his former girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt accused him of verbal and physical abuse during their relationship on social media.
"Imagine the worst type of verbal abuse you could ever imagine, and that was what I got," she said, according to People. "It then turned to physical — hitting, throwing, everything."
Lingafelt described an alleged incident in which she claimed Bell dragged her down some stairs in their home.
"And don't even want to get into the underage girls thing," she added.
In a statement to People, Bell said that he "never abused my ex-girlfriend or did so many of the other things Melissa falsely claimed on her TikTok video."
Related Stories:
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.