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For years, Drake Bell was a beloved Nickelodeon star with a promising acting and music career.

But the last that anyone heard of him, he tried to relaunch his career in Mexico after his girlfriend accused him of abuse.

Perhaps he should have stayed there.

Instead, the Drake & Josh alum has been arrested in Ohio … and charged for crimes against children?

Drake Bell at Premiere
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Drake Bell was arraigned on Thursday, June 3, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

There, he was charged on two criminal counts of attempted endangering children and disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.

The 34-year-old entered a plea of not guilty on both charges.

Photo via Getty

Drake Bell was indicted on May 21.

He posted a $2,500 bond on Thursday, the same day as his arraignment.

Following this bond posting, he was released from custody.

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On June 23, Drake will be required to rturne to court.

On that date, which is a Wednesday this year, a pretrial hearing will take place.

This is an unpleasant, complicated case due to both the charges and the nature of the Nickelodeon alum’s fame.

Drake Bell MTV VMAs
(Getty)

In Touch Weekly reached out to Drake Bell for a comment.

He did not offer one.

However, Drake’s attorney said that “the facts will be revealed in the courtroom.”

Photo via Getty

Yes, that is how courtrooms work.

Interestingly, the alleged incident took place years ago — on December 1, 2017.

Notably, Drake appears to have been in Cleveland at that time as the charges suggest.

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Two months earlier, he had tweeted about his plans.

He was scheduled to perform at the Odeon Concert Club on December 1, 2017.

So far, it remains unclear what exactly he is accused of doing.

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Drake Bell was a child actor.

The son of a billiards champion, he first rose to fame on Nickelodeon.

He costarred alongside Amanda Bynes on The Amanda Show, quickly becoming a fixture of the comedy sketch show.

Still in his teens, Drake landed his own series in 2004.

Costarring alongside Josh Peck, the two of them played the titular roles on Drake and Josh.

This series also helped Miranda Cosgrove, then a child actress herself, gain recognition before the launch of iCarly.

Drake and Josh Duo
(Nickelodeon)

Drake was able to get a head start on his music career.

He sang the opening song to Drake & Josh, and the show ran from 2004 to 2007.

Drake also sang as part of the opening music to iCarly, a show that would endure as a ratings juggernaut and which returns in a revival this month.

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In 2015, Drake ran into legal trouble.

At the time, he was arrested for driving under the influence.

He was released on $20,000 bond and entered a plea of not guilty.

The following year, Drake was sentenced to four days in jail, of which he served only one day.

(He was released after one day on good behavior)

He was also sentenced to four years of probation.

In 2019, Drake began using the name Drake Compana and releasing music in Spanish.

(Compana is literally just Spanish for “bell”)

He spent an increasing amount of time south of the border, even showing off a photo of his Mexican ID card in November of that year.

Photo via Getty

On the surface, this seemed like an effort to market his music to a predominantly Spanish-speaking market.

Others, however, wondered if this had more to do with something else.

Drake was accused by ex-girlfriend, Melissa Lingafelt, of verbal and physical abuse during their relationship.

Photo via Instagram

Drake strongly denied the accusations of abuse last year.

He claimed that they had simply said cruel things to and about each other upon breaking up, insisting that this “often happens” in breakups.

It is still unclear what the accusations against Drake are … but we all expect to learn more as the trial nears.