Various actors and entertainment industry insiders wrote letters in support of Brian Peck, a voice coach and Nickelodeon actor convicted of child sexual abuse, as revealed in Investigation Discovery’s Peck Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.

Pwas arrested in August 2003 on 11 charges of child sexual abuse. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison in October 2004 and was registered as a sex offender. At the time, the identity of the child actor who was abused by Peck was unknown publicly, and the minor was referred to as John Doe in court documents. The majority of the records were sealed, with details hidden from the public. After nearly 20 years, the documents were unsealed for the documentary.

In total, 41 people wrote letters of support for Peck, which are used to influence the judge during sentencing. Many of the letters asked for the judge to put Peck on probation rather than having him serve time in prison. Among the recognizable names that voiced their support towards Peck were Ron Melendez, Alan Thicke, James Marsden, Rider Strong, Will Friedle and Bell’s former The Amanda Show co-star Taran Killam.

Former Nickelodeon creator Dan Schneider addressed the claims in Quiet on Set about toxic workplaces for child actors and crews on Nickelodeon series he created and ran. He also shared conversations he says he had with Bell about Peck.

Schneider recounted Bell attending the sentencing hearing and Peck’s side of the courtroom being filled with supporters. “A lot of them (were) pretty famous.

Drake was devastated that that happened. Even more disappointing, 41 of those people wrote letters for Peck’s character, praising him for who he was and asking for leniency,” Schneider says in a video interview with iCarly star BooG!E that was filmed after Schneider watched the docuseries. “That was probably the darkest part of my career. And here’s the kicker that I really don’t get. After he (Peck) got out of prison and was a registered sex offender, he was hired on Disney Channel show. I don’t understand that.”

James Marsden Letter

Killam wrote on his letter, “I’ve seen the effects this situation has had on Brian and I know for a fact that he regrets any mistakes made.”

In February, Strong and Friedle commented on their Boy Meets World podcast, Pod Meets World. “In telling me what happened and instantly spinning it to where it wasn’t his fault, it was clearly the fault of his victim, my initial instinct because of the years I’d been [working] with him was, ‘Well yeah, of course, it can’t be you,’” said Friedle.

“[Peck] turned us against the victim to now we’re on his team. That’s the thing where, to me, I look back at that as my shame,” Friedle continued. “When there’s an actual victim involved and I’m now on the abuser’s side, that’s the thing I can’t get over.”

“To be clear, though, he didn’t say nothing had happened,” Strong added. “So, by the time we heard about this case and knew anything about it, it was always in the context of, ‘I did this thing, I am guilty. I am going to take whatever punishment the government determines, but I’m a victim of jailbait. There was this hot guy. I just did this thing, and he’s underage.’ And we bought that storyline as opposed to saying, ‘Woah, grown man who is over 40 years old, what the hell are you doing?’”

In instagram made by former Zoey 101 star Alexa Nikolas, who also appears in Quiet on Set, she addressed the Boy Meets World cast’s letters. “YOU cared more about Hollywood, Pizzagate, and Boy Meets World than a child that was molested by someone YOU defended and never apologized to!,” she wrote.

He continued, “Will was not manipulated. Brian admitted it to him and he wrote the letter anyway. Then he worked with me on many many episodes of Spider-Man years later and never said a word to me about it. This is because the were told there [sic] letters are gonna be made public. Everyone thought the letters would be sealed forever and no one would ever see them. This is their publicist telling them how to get ahead of their story.”

Bell also replied to another comment that alleged Strong was minor at the time, writing, “No he wasn’t. RIDER WAS 24 years old when he wrote the letter and was told by Brian what he did. He wrote the letter anyway.”

Bell maintained that while he pleaded guilty to his inappropriate text relationship with the fan, he did not have a physical relationship with her.

The former Nickelodeon actor added, “I took responsibility for that, you know, I did what was asked of me, but the media grabbed a hold of so much misinformation, and it absolutely destroyed me. And I started to spin our of control. If I had continued down that path, that could very likely be the end of my story.”

“This song is very autobiographical and touches on many moments of my life,” said Bell in interview with Mexican publication Publimetro. “Difficult situations, trauma, the good, the bad. I think my fans, who have supported me for a long time, will really understand where I’m coming from.”

When asked, he shared, “It’s not as much of a preview but it definitely touches on certain aspects and things that have happened in my life that the documentary also shows. It’s like a diary entry or a chapter of my life.”