Drake Bell has broken his silence after being reported "missing and endangered" by Florida police this week.
The alert was posted to Facebook by Daytona Beach Police Department Thursday but shortly after, police said the former Nickelodeon star — real name Jared Bell — was safe.
Bell, who rose to prominence in the hit Nickelodeon series "Drake & Josh," addressed his disappearance later Thursday on Twitter.
"You leave your phone in the car and don’t answer for the night and this?" he wrote alongside a laughing emoji.
Back in 2021, Bell, 36, pleaded guilty to felony attempted child endangerment and a misdemeanor charge of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
The allegations were made by a then-19-year-old woman who accused Bell of grooming her when she was 12. She said she initially felt loved and protected by him during online chats and that his messages became “blatantly sexual” after she turned 15.
The woman alleged that the pair exchanged explicit photos and that Bell sexually abused her while she was underage — claims that Bell's lawyers disputed. During the trial, she slammed Bell as a "pedophile" and a "coward."
Delivering his sentence, Ohio judge Timothy McCormick said that he heard "a lot of serious and disturbing allegations” during the hearing, but added that he "can’t lose focus on what was pled to."
"The fact of the matter is, your position and celebrity status let you nurture this relationship," McCormick said. "You were able to gain access to this child."
Bell said: "I accept this plea because my conduct was wrong.
"I’m sorry that the victim was harmed in any way, but that was obviously not my intention. I have taken this matter very, very seriously. And again, I just want to apologize to her and anyone else who may have been affected by my actions."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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.
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