Drake Bell Describes How Brian Peck Got Him Alone
Bell described Peck purposely driving a wedge between him and his manager father Joe Bell (who also appears within the ID series and backs up his son’s account) in order that he could spend more time with the teenager, who had a recurring role on The Amanda Show before he was offered his own sitcom, Drake & Josh, in 2004.
Peck would take him to auditions, Bell said, and then have him sleep over, saying it was too late to drive him back home. One night, Bell described, he woke up on the couch (where he said he all the time slept) and Peck was sexually assaulting him.
“I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react,” Bell said, “and I had no idea how to get out of the situation.”
He recalled Peck being apologetic, however the abuse didn’t stop—and Bell said he didn’t tell anyone, not even when the mom of his then-girlfriend realized something was improper and took him to a therapist. He admittedly believed that if he said anything, his profession could be over.
Eventually, he said he “exploded” and told his mother all the pieces, and she or he immediately called police. Bell said that detectives made him give an “excruciatingly detailed” account of the abuse after which had him call Peck to prompt a confession over the phone while they listened in. Peck “just began a full-on confession,” Bell said, and was subsequently arrested on Aug. 20, 2003.