sexual abuse
A federal judge is refusing to dismiss a civil lawsuit accusing electronic producer Bassnectar of sexually abusing three underage girls, sending the long-running case to a jury trial.
In a ruling Thursday (Dec. 6), Judge Aleta Trauger dismissed some aspects of the case but said that the overall lawsuit against the DJ (whose real name is Lorin Ashton) would be resolved by a jury of his peers. A trial is currently scheduled for February.
Attorneys for Bassnectar had made various arguments for why the case should be tossed out, including that he hadnât known how old the accusers were and that they had lied about their ages. But in her order, Judge Trauger was unswayed.
Ruling on claims made by plaintiff Jenna Houston, the judge noted that she was âonly sixteenâ when they met and that Ashton was âobviously able to observe her in person,â meaning a jury could find that he had ârecklessly disregarded the fact that Houston was underage during the first thirteen months of their sexual relationship.â
The judge cited deposition testimony from Ashton â in which he agreed that Houston âdoes not look like sheâs 19 years oldâ in an old photo she allegedly emailed him, but later also said she looked âlike 19, 20, 21â when they first met.
âA jury must resolve the question of whether Ashton deliberately disregarded obvious facts from which he should have known that Houston was still a minor when they met,â the judge wrote. âA reasonable jury could believe â based on photographs of Houston taken at or around the time she met Ashton and Ashtonâs confusing testimony when he was confronted with such photos â that no reasonable person would have believed she was eighteen or older.â
Thursdayâs order came more than three years after the three women â Rachel Ramsbottom, Alexis Bowling and Houston â filed their lawsuit, accusing Ashton of using his âpower and influence to groom and ultimately sexually victimize underage girls.â
The lawsuit, which accuses Ashton of sex trafficking, child pornography and negligence, claims that the star would invite minors to his shows, bring them to a hotel room and provide âlarge sums of cash and other items of valueâ in exchange for sex.
In her ruling Thursday, Judge Trauger tossed out certain elements of those allegations. She ruled that Ramsbottom in particular had failed to show that she received any payments after she turned 18 â meaning she could not accuse him of sex trafficking after that point. And she rejected claims that the DJ had used âforce, fraud or coercionâ on any of his alleged victims.
âThe psychological force she alleges he exerted over her amounts to nothing other than a desire to please a famous man she clearly admired and whose approval she sought,â the judge wrote of Bowlingâs accusations.
Ditto for Houston: âThe conduct she identifies as coercive â conduct that allegedly manipulated her into loving and trusting him, making her afraid to do anything that would cause her to lose his affection â does not qualify,â the judge wrote. âHeartbreak is simply not the form of harm envisioned by the sex-trafficking statute.â
But the ruling still leaves Ashton facing most of the lawsuitâs allegations, including claims that he had sex trafficked them as minors by paying them in return for sex. The DJâs attorneys strongly deny that anything given to the women was a payment, but the judge said a jury might see otherwise.
âThere is a question of fact as to whether the âtravel money,â free concert tickets, and free airfare Houston received from Ashton were causally related to Ashtonâs allegedly enticing Houston to have sex with him and to provide her the means of traveling to see him again while she was underage in order to have sex,â the judge wrote.
In a statement to Billboard on Friday, the lead attorney for the accusers, M. Stewart Ryan, said: âOur clients are very happy that the Court agreed with us that this case must be heard by a jury. Rachel, Alexis, and Jenna all look forward to their day in court, yet another step on their journey to justice in this case.â
Representatives for Ashton did not immediately return requests for comment on Friday.
UPDATE: This story was updated at 2:03 pm EST on Dec. 6 with a statement from an attorney for the plaintiffs.
Electronic music producer Bassnectar is asking a federal judge to dismiss a long-running civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing three underage girls, arguing that all three alleged victims lied about their ages and had themselves instigated the relationships.
In a motion filed Monday (Nov. 4) in Nashville federal court, attorneys for the DJ (Lorin Ashton) argued that the case did not need to be decided by a jury because the discovery process â the investigation of evidence during a civil lawsuit â had revealed that there was no merit to the allegations.
âDiscovery has confirmed that when each of the plaintiffs first contacted defendant, they lied about not only their ages, but also their level of education, as well as their work and life experiences,â his lawyers write. âEach plaintiff admitted to deceiving defendant into believing that she was over the age of eighteen.â
Ashtonâs lawyers also say the discovery process has also made âcrystal clearâ that the DJ ânever forced â in any way â plaintiffs into having a sexual relationship with him.â
âTo the contrary, the record demonstrates that the pursuit of a sexual relationship between the parties was instigated by Plaintiffs, each of whom was always free to continue it or end it,â his attorneys write. âPlaintiffs simply cannot prove that they were coerced or that they felt that they had no other choice but to engage in a sexual relationship with Defendant.â
The filing comes more than three years after the three women â Rachel Ramsbottom, Alexis Bowling, and Jenna Houston â filed their lawsuit, accusing Ashton of using his âpower and influence to groom and ultimately sexually victimize underage girls.â
The lawsuit, which accuses Ashton of sex trafficking, child pornography and negligence, claims that the star would invite minors to his shows, bring them to a hotel room and provide âlarge sums of cash and other items of valueâ in exchange for sex.
Last month, Ashtonâs attorneys moved for âsummary judgment,â meaning the judge would rule on the case without submitting it to a jury. They cited, among many other arguments, that state law enforcement had investigated Ramsbottomâs accusations and federal authorities had looked into Houstonâs â and that prosecutors had declined to file charges in both instances.
Responding to that motion last month, attorneys for the accusers blasted Ashton for seeking to dismiss the case, claiming he had made damning admissions during depositions, including âknowing full wellâ that Ramsbottom was under 18. They also argued that he had clearly âgroomedâ them in such a way that facilitated the abuse.
âHe entered their teenaged lives as a famous celebrity, engendered their trust, and made it such that his withdrawal of affection or the threat thereof, which the plaintiffs now understand to be abusive, caused each to continue their interaction with defendant,â their lawyers wrote at the time.
With Mondayâs reply from Ashtonâs attorneys, the case is now in the hands of the judge, who will decide in the coming weeks or months whether to order a jury trial or dismiss the accusations. Attorneys for both sides declined to comment.
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Diddy has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit from Lil Rod, alleging that the producer sexually abused him.
According to reports, lawyers representing Diddy have filed a motion in a New York federal court seeking to dismiss the lawsuit brought against him by producer Rodney âLil Rodâ Jones in February. In a statement, the lawyers say that Lil Rodâs lawsuit âfails to state a single viable claimâ and that the accusations are false. The original suit by Jones claims that Diddy drugged him, sexually assaulted and harassed him, and goaded him into procuring prostitutes to engage in sex with during a year that he spent with the mogul in Miami and Los Angeles producing the Love Album: Off The Grid from 2022 to 2023. Jones also claimed that Diddy, aka Sean Combs, was part of a RICO enterprise that included executives from Love Records, Motown Records, and Universal Music Group.
âThere was no RICO conspiracy and Mr. Jones was not threatened, groomed, assaulted, or trafficked,â Diddyâs lead attorney Erica Wolff said in a statement. âWe look forward to proving â in a court of law â that all of Mr. Jonesâ claims are made-up and must be dismissed.â Jonesâ initial lawsuit alleges that he has hundreds of hours of audio capturing many of the acts described, including threats of physical harm made against him by Diddy. The lawsuit also names Diddyâs oldest son, Christian âKingâ Combs, and other executives. Jones is seeking $30 million dollars in damages, claiming that he wasnât paid for his work on the Love Album: Off The Grid, which would be nominated for a Grammy Award, and claiming Diddy promised him $20,000 and four royalty points per song in addition to publishing credits. A spokesperson for Combs denied that in a statement to Rolling Stone.
The motion comes as Diddy is dealing with six other lawsuits that allege that he engaged in sexual assault, drugging, and physical attacks. He is also the subject of a sex trafficking probe initiated by federal investigators, which resulted in a raid on his properties in Miami and Los Angeles earlier this year.
The fallout came after he was sued by his former partner, Cassie Ventura, last November on charges of rape and assault. He would settle with her shortly after.Â
Film composer Danny Elfman is facing a libel lawsuit over statements he made to the media last year defending himself from claims that he sexually abused a former friend and fellow composer.
In a case filed Wednesday (July 10) in Los Angeles court, Nomi Abadi accused Elfman of defaming her in his response to a July 2023 article in Rolling Stone, which detailed Abadiâs allegations that Elfman had repeatedly sexually harassed her, exposed himself and masturbated in front of her.
Her lawyers say that after Abadi âtruthfully relayed factsâ to Rolling Stone, Elfman attempted to âprop up his checkered reputation by destroying Nomiâs credibilityâ with âappalling liesâ that branded her as a âliar, homewrecker, and an extortionist.â
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âDefamation law provides a remedy to those individuals who, because of wretched lies about their integrity, can no longer succeed on their merits in the marketplace,â her attorneys write in the lawsuit, obtained by Billboard. âIt would be difficult to find an individual more meriting such a remedy than plaintiff Nomi Abadi.â
A representative for Elfman did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday (July 11).
Last yearâs Rolling Stone article reported that Elfman and Abadi had entered into a previously unreported $830,000 settlement in 2018 to resolve her accusations. It also reported that Abadi had recently sued Elfman for breach of contract, claiming he had missed payments required by the earlier settlement.
The article detailed Abadiâs allegations against Elfman at length. In a police report cited in the story, she claimed that over the course of nearly a year, Elfman had exposed himself and masturbated multiple times in front of her without her consent. In one particularly graphic accusation from the police report, Elfman allegedly presented her with a martini glass that Abadi claimed Elfman said was filled with semen.
Elfman â a prolific film composer who has written more than 100 film scores and composed the famous intro to The Simpsons â responded in the article with an extensive statement. Calling the allegations âvicious and wholly false,â he described Abadi as having a âchildhood crushâ on him and intending to âbreak up my marriage and replace my wife.â Elfman said that when he attempted to distance himself from her, âshe made it clear that I would pay for having rejected her.â
According to Abadiâs new case, those statements to Rolling Stone were clearly defamatory â falsely portraying her as âa scorned woman seeking revenge and money.â
âIn so doing, Elfman and his agents left Nomiâs career ambitions in tatters, requiring the commencement of this action,â her lawyers write. âIn publicly branding Nomi as a liar, and a failed temptress who lied about him for reasons of revenge and greed, Elfman and his representatives defamed Nomi.â
Rolling Stone (which is owned by the same parent company as Billboard) is not named in the lawsuit nor accused of any wrongdoing.
Beyond Elfmanâs statement, the new case also takes aim at two more factual assertions relayed by an unnamed ârep for Elfmanâ to Rolling Stone. In one, the representative denied the martini glass allegation, claiming it had actually been filled with âmoisturizing creamâ and was intended as a joke. In another, the rep addressed a claim that Elfman had snapped nude images of Abadi, arguing that it had been her idea and that she had âdisrobed almost immediately without any encouragement.â
In her new lawsuit, Abadi said those claims were also false and defamatory: âNomi did not initiate the nude photography,â her lawyers write in their complaint. âElfman coerced her into it. Elfman masturbated in front of Nomi, afterwards apologizing to her and promising not to do so again.â
The lawsuit does not specify how much money Abadi is seeking in damages.
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The-Dream is the latest entertainer to be slammed with a lawsuit alleging several serious crimes from a former understudy who claims she was subjected to sexual abuse, battery, and more. Chanaaz Mangroe claims in her lawsuit that The-Dream promised to guide her singing career but instead used his position and power to abuse and torture her.
TMZ was able to obtain the court documents filed by Chanaaz Mangroe, which detail some of the heinous acts she was allegedly subjected to. Mangroe, who hails from the Netherlands, says in her lawsuit that The-Dream, real name Terius Nash, took it upon himself to extend her work visa in 2014 in order to help grow her career in the States.
What transpired instead, according to Mangroe, was a yearlong abusive relationship with Nash using his age and influence to control her actions.
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She alleges she was locked in a dark room where The-Dream âviolentlyâ had sex with her, leaving her naked and alone âfor hours on endâ before returning for another encounter.
The aspiring singer goes on to claim she was âfrequently strangledâ by Dream during their sexual encounters ⌠almost losing consciousness on a number of occasions.
Further, Mangroe says that Nash would record their sexual encounters and allegedly used that as leverage to keep her silent as it was assumed he could leak the footage publicly.
So far, the legal team for The-Dream has yet to respond to the allegations.
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Former Nickelodeon producer/writer Dan Schneider fired back at the team behind the bombshell series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV on Wednesday (May 1) in a lawsuit in which he alleged that the documentary series wrongly implied that he sexually abused the child actors he worked with.
According to the Associated Press, Schneider filed the defamation suit against Warner Bros. Discovery and other companies behind the investigative series in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming in the suit that the showâs trailer and episodes deliberately mixed and juxtaposed images and mentions of him with the criminal sexual abusers spotlighted in the show with the implication he was involved.
Former teenage actor Schneider (Head of the Class) split with Nickelodeon in 2018 after more than a decade at the center of some of the networkâs most successful, star-making shows, including All That, The Amanda Show, Kenan & Kel and as executive producer of Zoey 101, iCarly and Victorious, with the latter three, respectively, launching the careers of Jamie Lynn Spears, Miranda Cosgrove and Jenette McCurdy and Victoria Justice and Ariana Grande.
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Schneider took center stage during many storylines in Quiet, which interviewed the casts and crews of several of Schneiderâs most successful shows to describe how the sets he was responsible for often sexualized their young teen stars in a sometimes tense, toxic work environment some described as abusive. The series originally ran on the ID channel in March and is now available to stream on Max.
Among the bombshell revelations in the series that spotlighted descriptions of sexual abuse of child actors was the emotional commentary from Drake & Josh star Drake Bell, who described his grooming and sexual abuse by former childhood dialogue coach Brian Peck; Peck was convicted of sexually assaulting a Nickelodeon child actor (Bell) in 2004. In the third episode, Bell graphically recounts the abuse he suffered at Peckâs hands when he was 14- and 15-years-old.
Other former actors on Nickelodeon shows from the Schneider era also allege that they were rife with sexism, racism and inappropriate behavior involving underage stars and crew and alleged predatory behavior. The show suggests that Schneiderâs shows tended to put young women in comedic situations with overt sexual implications, while depicting him as an angry and emotionally abusive boss, including specific allegations of sexual harassment and gender discrimination form women who worked as writers under him on All That.
Among the allegations are that he displayed pornography on his computer in their presence in the writersâ room and often asked for massages from female staffers with the implication that they could help get the womenâs sketches on the shows, which he has denied.
According to the AP, the suit claims âQuiet on Setâs portrayal of Schneider is a hit job. While it is indisputable that two bona fide child sexual abusers worked on Nickelodeon shows, it is likewise indisputable that Schneider had no knowledge of their abuse, was not complicit in the abuse, condemned the abuse once it was discovered and, critically, was not a child sexual abuser himself.â In addition to Discovery â parent company of ID and Max â the suit names the showâs producers as well, Sony Pictures Television and Maxine Productions. The suit claims that the series and its trailer unjustly implicated Schneider in child sex abuse by showing pictures of him, some with his arm around young actresses, amid discussions of what they said were unsafe environments on his sets.
The series claims that kid actors were made to wear suggestive costumes and act in inappropriate sketches with clearly pornographic undertones. All That actor Leon Frierson talks about his superhero character, Captain Big Nose, who wore tights and underwear and a prosthetic nose with matching noses on his shoulders.
âYou canât help but notice that it looks like penises and testicles on my shoulders,â he says in the series, adding that one sketch included Captain Big Nose blasting a giant sneeze caused by his allergy to asteroids, with the punchline consisting of him shooting messy goo on the face of a young woman. âThe joke in that sketch is effectively a cum shot joke. Itâs a cum shot joke for children,â culture writer Schaachi Koul says in the premiere episode of the five-part series. âLooking back, itâs very strange. Frankly, it was just uncomfortable,â says Frierson, who also describes that getting close to âkingmakerâ Schneider could result in another level of success for the young actors. âIt was important to be on his good side, and he made it known who was on his good side,â he says.
Nickelodeon, which was not named in the suit, said in a statement in the series that it could not âcorroborate or negateâ the allegations from two decades ago, but that it investigates all formal complaints and has strict protocols for shows starring minors.
Schneider, 58, was not interviewed for the series, but issued a YouTube video apology after the show aired in which he said he was sorry for âpast behaviors, some of which are embarrassing and that I regret.â The suit is seeking financial damages to be determined at trial for what it described as âthe destruction of Schneiderâs reputation and legacyâ via âfalse statements and implicationsâ as well as the editing and removals of portions of the series and trailers.
âSchneider will be the first to admit that some of what they said is true,â the lawsuit claims according to The Huffington Post. âAt times, he was blind to the pain that some of his behaviors caused certain colleagues, subordinates, and cast members. He will regret and atone for this behavior the rest of his life. But one thing he is not â and the one thing that will forever mar his reputation and career both past and present â is a child sexual abuser.â
In a statement to HuffPo, Schneider said the series âhighlighted mistakes I made and poor judgment I exhibited during my time at Nickelodeon. ⌠There is no doubt that I was sometimes a bad leader. I am sincerely apologetic and regretful for that behavior, and I will continue to take accountability for it.â
Stories about sexual assault allegations can be traumatizing for survivors of sexual assault. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINNâs National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organizationâs website for more information.
A federal appeals court on Friday (April 26) upheld R. Kellyâs conviction on child pornography and enticement charges, rejecting his argument that the case against him was filed too late.
Eighteen months after a federal jury in Chicago found Kelly (Robert Sylvester Kelly) guilty, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the 2022 guilty verdict, saying that he had been convicted by âan even-handed juryâ and that âno statute of limitations saves him.â
âFor years, Robert Sylvester Kelly abused underage girls. By employing a complex scheme to keep victims quiet, he long evaded consequences,â Judge Amy St. Eve wrote for a three-judge panel. âIn recent years, though, those crimes caught up with him at last. But Kelly â interposing a statute-of-limitations defense â thinks he delayed the charges long enough to elude them entirely. The statute says otherwise, so we affirm his conviction.â
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Fridayâs ruling affirms one of Kellyâs two felony sex abuse convictions. The other one â a September 2021 guilty verdict on racketeering charges brought by federal prosecutors in New York â is currently pending on appeal.
In the wake of Fridayâs decision, Kelly can now appeal the verdict to the U.S. Supreme Court. But such appeals face extremely long odds, as the high court hears only a tiny fraction of the petitions it receives.
In a statement to Billboard on Friday, Kellyâs attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, said: âWe are disappointed in the ruling but our fight is far from over. We will seek review from the Supreme Court and continue to pursue all of his appellate remedies until we Free R. Kelly. You can bet on that.â
After decades of accusations of sexual misconduct, Kelly was indicted in 2019 by federal prosecutors in both New York and Illinois. By the end of 2022, he had been convicted in both cases.
In Brooklyn, the feds accused Kelly of violating the federal RICO statute (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) by orchestrating a long-running scheme to recruit and abuse women and underage girls. After being convicted in September 2021, Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
In Chicago, a different team of federal prosecutors accused Kelly of violating child pornography laws, enticing minors for sex and obstructing justice by upending a 2008 criminal trial. Though he was acquitted on certain counts, Kelly was convicted in September 2022. The judge later sentenced him to 20 years in prison, but the vast majority of that sentence will be served concurrently with the New York sentence.
In appealing the Chicago verdict, Kellyâs attorneys argued that the case â over crimes that allegedly occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s â had been filed well past the statute of limitations that existed at the time, which barred child sex abuse charges after a victimâs 25th birthday.
But in Fridayâs ruling, the judges chose instead to apply the modern statute of limitations, which extends through the life of the victim.
âKelly maintains that the old, pre-2003 statute of limitations should control,â Judge St. Eve wrote. âAll the inducement of minors in this case, he points out, took place when he could expect a more generous statute of limitations. The law does not support Kellyâs position.â
The appeals court also rejected several other arguments from Kelly, including one challenging the procedural fairness of his trial and another against the propriety of his sentence.
With Kellyâs Chicago verdict affirmed, attention now turns to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which is currently weighing his Brooklyn conviction. That case was argued in court last month, when Bonjean told the judges that the RICO case against Kelly had stretched federal racketeering laws âto the point of absurdity.â
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On Thursday (March 28), Daphne Joy made an alarming accusation that she was raped and abused by her sonâs father, Curtis â50 Centâ Jackson via Instagram. Wasting little time, 50 Cent responded with a statement shooting down the allegations in the wake of the recent legal issues surrounding Daphne Joy.
Daphne Joy, who was named in the lawsuit filed by Rodney âLil Rodâ Jones against Sean âDiddyâ Combs, claims that Jackson raped and abused her. Taking to Instagram, Joy held nothing back as she referred to Jackson as her âoppressor.â
From Instagram:
Curtis James Jackson. Everything is a joke to you until our safety is compromised, which is happening now. You are wreaking real havoc, frenzy and chaos onto peopleâs lives. How could u feel if Sire was the one in handcuffs? For nothing. We moved to New York to give you the opportunity to be a father to your son and you saw him 10 times out of the 2 years that we lived 1 mile away from you. I am tired of upholding and protecting an image to our son that you have never even earned.
Letâs put the real focus on your true evil actions of raping me and physically abusing me. You are no longer my oppressor and my God will handle you from this point on. You have permanently damaged the last hope I had for you as a father to preserve our family with these last and final false slams made against me. You have broken our hearts for the last and final time.
In a statement delivered to The Hollywood Reporter, Jackson says that the allegations are untrue.
From THR:
The disturbing allegations in the sworn pleadings recently filed in a court case related to Daphne Joy the mother of my twelve year old child, has required me to take all necessary legal actions to protect my son Sire. The most recent false and baseless accusations by Daphne Joy are clearly in response to my decision to seek sole custody of my son. My son Sire is my main priority and keeping him in a safe environment is my only focus at this time.
It doesnât appear that 50 Cent is bothered, posting to his Instagram page Friday morning, which can be viewed below.
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Photo: Getty
Trigger warning: the following story contains descriptions of sexual assault.
In an emotional TikTok video posted over the weekend, former Drake & Josh star Drake Bell shared that a ballad from his 2005 debut album Telegraph, entitled âIn the End,â featured lyrics alluding to his sexual abuse at the hands of Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck. That abuse was explored in the recent docuseries Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which chronicled stories of emotional abuse and traumatic experiences suffered by teen and tween actors on the sets of a variety of Nickelodeon programs.
âWrote this song when I was 15 about what happened before I said anything to anyone,â Bell captioned the one-minute video, in which he sits with a forlorn, pained look as the songâs emotional lyrics play out. âWake up/ Itâs time to get your things together and drive away/ âBreathe out, future days will treat you betterâ/ Thatâs what they say,â he sings. âAnother day gone without a say/ But itâs okay if you turn around/ And feel the memories bringinâ you down.â
The songâs lyrics never appear to explicitly mention abuse, but the chorus (not included in Bellâs video) hints at dark themes. âWake up/ The monsters in your head have left you/ All to yourself, itâs alright/ If ugly little things remind you of how it felt,â he sings, adding, âAnother day, no one tells you what it means/ Whatâs in your way and poisoninâ your dreams/ The darkest place that youâve ever been.â
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Bell, now 37, detailed his abuse for the first time in the four-part series that plumbed the toxic work environment at the Viacom childrenâs network on sets run by Dan Schneider, creator of such hit programs as Drake & Josh, The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, iCarly, Victorious and Sam & Cat, which launched the careers of such superstars as Ariana Grande, Amanda Bynes, Kenan Thompson, Victoria Justice and more.
In the series, Bell discussed his abuse by Peck â who was convicted of sexually assaulting a Nickelodeon child actor (Bell) in 2004 â for the first time, alongside other then-underage actorâs stories alleging abuse, sexism, racism and inappropriate alleged predatory behavior at the network.
Peck was convicted in 2004, a year before Bellâs debut album was released and several years after authorities said the abuse of the then 14/15-year-old actor took place. Peck was accused of molesting a child in 2003 and later convicted of a lewd act against a child and oral copulation of a person under 16 â resulting in a 16-month sentence and registration as a sex offender.
âNow that Drake Bell has disclosed his identity as the plaintiff in the 2004 case, we are dismayed and saddened to learn of the trauma he has endured, and we commend and support the strength required to come forward,â Nickelodeon said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter prior to the seriesâ debut earlier this month.
Bell is slated to release his sixth studio album, Non-Stop Flight, later this year. The video for the albumâs power pop first single, âI Kind of Relate,â features scenes that directly allude to the abuse some other difficult chapters in the singer/actorâs personal life. âI kind of relateI found beauty in my pain/ Iâm running away/ From the abuse and allâ theâ shame,â he sings on the Beach Boys-esque tune. ââCause no oneâ comes/ To my house anymore/ No one knocksâ on my door.â
Watch Bellâs TikTok video below.
Stories about sexual assault allegations can be traumatizing for survivors of sexual assault. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINNâs National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organizationâs website for more information.
Drake Bell is coming forward about the sexual assault he says he experienced as a 15-year-old child star.
The Drake & Josh actor opened up on the upcoming four-part Investigation Discovery series Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, set to air March 17 and 18, where Bell alleges that he was abused by a dialogue coach named Brian Peck, who worked on popular series like All That and The Amanda Show, the latter of which Bell starred in from 1999 to 2002.
Peck was arrested in August 2003 and charged with lewd acts with a child. According to a press release from the Los Angeles Police Department, the abuse occurred approximately two years prior at Peckâs residence, and that Peck was coaching the unnamed victim. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender in late 2004.
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In 2021, Bell was sentenced to two yearsâ probation on child endangerment charges and 200 hours of community service for his conduct with a young fan, whom he met online and then in person, that spanned years. According to the victim, the former Drake and Josh star began contact with her via online chats when she was 12, with those communications escalating to exchanges that were âblatantly sexualâ by the time she was 15.Â
Bell initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but ultimately reached a plea deal with prosecutors. He was convicted in June of felony attempted child endangerment, with a misdemeanor charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
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In his response video, Bell stated that âIâm not perfect, and I make mistakesâ and called his behavior âreckless and irresponsibleâ but disputed that he maintained communication with the victim over a sustained period of time or that he knew who she was during in-person encounters.
âI responded to a fan whose age I didnât know. When I became aware of their age, all conversation and communication stopped,â he said. âThis individual continued to come to shows and pay for meet-and-greets, and although I was unaware that this was the same person I was communicating with online, thatâs what I pled guilty to.â
Watch the full Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV trailer below. The docuseries is directed by Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz.
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If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and need support and/or resources, reach out to RAINN and the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE) for free, confidential help 24/7.