While reflecting on his years as a child star, Drake Bell revealed he was sexually abused by a dialogue coach.
In the new documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, the former Nickelodeon star spoke out about the abuse he suffered at the hands of dialogue coach, Brian Pack.
“To hear that Brian Peck was a sexual predator, it made me wonder immediately about who was being hurt,” Drake Bell explained. Fellow Nickelodeon alum Giovonnie Samuels chimed in and said, “Who it is, when it happened, where it happened, I have no idea.”
That was when Bell appeared to share his story about the interactions he had with Peck. The dialogue coach worked on Nickelodeon’s hit sketch series The Amanda Show, a series that Bell starred in.
Peck was arrested in 2003 on charges of a lewd act against a child and oral copulation of a person under 16. One year later, he was convicted of sexually abusing an unknown Nickelodeon child star. He was sentenced to 16 months in jail.
Drake Bell was reportedly the minor in the case. He went on to star in his own series on Nickelodeon, Drake and Josh, from 2004 to 2007.
‘Boy Meets World’ Alums Speak Out About Being Groomed by Brian Peck Along With Drake Bell
Weeks before Drake Bell shared his story for the Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV documentary, Boy Meets World stars Rider Strong and Will Friedle spoke about their interaction with Brian Peck.
“I didn’t really go to parties,” Friedle explained at the time. “I didn’t really do that stuff. But I was working a lot after Boy Meets World, and this guy had so ingratiated himself into my life, I took him to three shows after Boy Meets World.”
Peck presented himself to the cast as being a great, funny guy. However, Friedle pointed out that he did not have any boundaries. Friedle recalled Peck calling him after he was arrested in 2003.
“[He was] instantly spinning it to where it wasn’t his fault, it was clearly the fault of his victim,” Friedle stated. “My instinct initially was, ‘My friend, this can’t be. It’s gotta be the other person’s fault.’ The story makes complete sense the way that he’s saying it.”
Strong and Friedle write a letter to the judge defending Peck. They also appeared in court to support him.
“There’s an actual victim here,” Friedle added. “And he turned us against the victim to where now we’re on his team. Getting taken in by somebody who’s a good actor and a manipulator, I could chalk that up to being young and that’s the way it is. It’s awful.”