In a case of child endangerment, Drake Bell was sentenced to two years of probation.

 In a case of child endangerment, Drake Bell was sentenced to two years of probation.

Following his guilty pleas last month to counts of attempted child endangerment and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, actor Drake Bell, who was today referred to as a "monster" by the victim in a 2017 Ohio child endangerment case, was sentenced to two years of probation and a suspended one-year jail sentence in a Cleveland courtroom.

Bell appeared in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas courthouse today via Zoom for his sentencing with Judge Timothy McCormick. The charges carried a maximum sentence of two years in jail, but it was not obligatory. Bell was also sentenced to 200 hours of community service, all of which must be completed in California.

The sentencing was preceded by a victim impact statement during which she seemed to introduce new details – including allegations of sexual contact that she said occurred when she was a minor – that appeared to surprise the former Drake & Josh star, in a contentious hearing during which both Bell and the now-19-year-old woman appeared via Zoom.

When Bell widened his eyes and shook his head in response to her story of backstage oral sex when she was 15 years old, the victim screamed, "Don't look at me like that!"

“I adored and looked up to him,” the victim claimed at one point, adding, “He was calculating, he preyed on me, and he sexually assaulted me at another moment.” He is a creature who poses a threat to children. He feels remorseful that he has finally been apprehended. He took delight in his misdeeds, and he can give me that look all he wants, but he understands precisely what I'm talking about. My pain isn't for him to boast about or use as leverage to demonstrate how he's grown into a nice guy since becoming a father.”

The victim's impact statement, according to Bell's lawyer, contained severe charges that the actor had not been charged with and that were not the counts to which Bell pled guilty. The victim's claims, he said, stemmed from her dissatisfaction with Bell's engagement and marriage.

The court noted Bell's punishment was purely based on the two charges of the guilty plea agreement: one count of attempted child endangerment (a 4th-degree felony) for which he was sentenced to one year, and one count of distributing content detrimental to minors for which he was sentenced to six months. The phrases were supposed to go in parallel.

Bell has admitted to exchanging sexually explicit text messages with the girl.

Due to the possibility of a civil lawsuit, Bell spoke briefly on the advice of his counsel. “I just want to say today that I accept this plea because my behavior was wrong,” the actor said, adding that he had “taken this issue very, very seriously” and that he had not tried to damage anyone. “All I want to do is apologize to her and anyone else who could have been harmed as a result of my actions.”

The victim, in an often weak voice, recalled first meeting Bell when she was 12 years old, via an acquaintance of her aunt, and made claims that went well beyond the two offenses to which Bell pled guilty. She described him as a hero to her. “I would have gone to any length to help him.” The victim, whose name was not revealed during today's sentence hearing but whose face was seen in split-screen during a public Livestream, claimed she encountered Bell "several times" when she was 12 to 15 years old.

Bell "told me to hurry up" when she reached 15, she said, adding, "He told me I was gorgeous and males were foolish." The victim interrupted her Zoom testimony today to yell, "Don't grin at me!" after seeing the actor's shocking reaction to that comment.

The victim also claimed today that nude photographs were shared, which Bell's lawyer, Ian Friedman, categorically disputed, pointing out that no photos had ever been submitted as evidence.

Friedman further refuted the victim's claim of sexual encounters backstage and in the actor's hotel room, pointing out that other adults were present at all instances. “The facts would imply that what the victim claims happened here did not happen,” the attorney stated. “We would not be talking about [the two lesser] accusations if the state thought it had a proven case.”

Bell has paid a consequence in the form of a "loss of work," according to the defense counsel, and his reputation has been badly harmed.

“There were significant and troubling charges made here today,” Judge McCormick said, “but we can't lose focus on what he pled to.” He did not enter a plea of guilty to sexual misconduct.

“However, a grown guy does not send improper text messages to a teenager,” he added, referring to the sexual nature of Bell and the victim's interactions. “Harm may have befallen” the actor professionally, the judge noted, but “your famous position is what enabled you to cultivate this relationship,” he said directly to Bell. It's like a double-edged sword.”