Famous actor Drake Bell detailed the alleged sexual assault he suffered at the hands of Nickelodeon dialogue and acting coach, Brian Peck.
He revealed his whole story in the upcoming documentary “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” set to air the upcoming ID documentary on March 17 and 18, according to Variety. “My name is Drake Bell and I came here today to tell my story,” he said at the opening of the film. “The abuse was extensive and it got pretty brutal. I don’t know how to elaborate on that on camera, really … Why don’t you think of the worst stuff that someone could do to somebody as a sexual assault, and then I’ll answer your question? I don’t know how else to put it.”
Actor Drake Bell attends the premiere of Tribeca Film’s “Palo Alto” at Directors Guild Of America on May 5, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Actor/singer Drake Bell attends the 2014 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 18, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Bell said Peck allegedly groomed him and earned his trust, as well as that of his parents. He said the majority of the parents of child actors felt he could be trusted, and had no idea what was allegedly happening behind closed doors. He allegedly spent many nights at Peck’s home, when suddenly, “everything changed with Brian one morning,” he said, according to Variety.
“I was sleeping on the couch where I would usually sleep. I woke up to him — I opened my eyes, I woke up and he was sexually assaulting me,” Bell said, according to Variety.
Drake Bell attends the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 27, 2017 in Inglewood, California. Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images
Actor/musician Drake Bell attends the 23rd Annual Time for Heroes Celebrity Picnic to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation at Wadsworth Theater on June 3, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images
“I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react, and I have no idea how to get out of this situation.”
The famous actor said he was just 15 years old at the time and didn’t know what to do about the alleged situation, so he kept it quiet. He noted that Peck was allegedly “so apologetic,” and said it would never happen again.
Bell spoke of the manner in which Peck allegedly ensured he had unsupervised access to him.
“He figured out how to convince my mom and everyone around to, anytime I would have an audition or anytime I needed to work on dialogue or anything, I somehow ended up back at Brian’s house and it just got worse and worse and worse and worse,” Bell said. “I was just trapped. I had no way out.” (RELATED: ‘Boy Meets World’ Stars Rider Strong And Will Friedle Say They Were Groomed By Fellow Actor)
Peck was arrested in 2003 on 11 charges including sodomy, lewd acts upon a child 14 or 15 by a person 10 years older and oral copulation by anesthesia or controlled substance, but his young victim wasn’t named at the time.