Drake Bell Describes How Brian Peck Got Him Alone
Bell described Peck deliberately driving a wedge between himself and his manager father Joe Bell (who also appears in the series ID and saves his son’s account) so he could spend more time with the teenager, who had a recurring role in Amanda’s Show before he was offered his own sitcom, Drake and Joshin 2004.
Peck would take him to auditions, Bell said, then make him sleep at his house, saying it was too late to drive him home. One night, Bell described, he woke up on the couch (where he said he was still sleeping) and Peck was sexually assaulting him.
“I froze and I was in complete shock and I didn’t know what to do or how to react,” Bell said, “and I didn’t know how to get out of the situation.”
He remembers Peck apologizing, but the abuse didn’t stop — and Bell said he didn’t tell anyone, not even when his then-girlfriend’s mother realized something was wrong and took him to a therapist. He certainly believed that if he said something, his career would be over.
Eventually, he said he “blew up” and told his mother, who immediately called the police. Bell said detectives made her give an “excruciatingly detailed” account of the abuse, then asked her to call Peck to demand a confession over the phone while they listened. Peck “just started a full confession,” Bell said, and was subsequently arrested on August 20, 2003.
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