Actor Drake Bell was terrified by a John Wayne Gacy painting that hung in the home of the man who sexually abused him as a child, RadarOnline.com has learned.
During his rise to child stardom on hit Nickelodeon shows, Bell was groomed and molested, beginning when he was 14, by former voice coach Brian Peck.
Bell, now 37, opened up about the abuse for the first time in Investigation Discovery's bombshell docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which aired in March.
The actor and musician revealed in the series that the molestation began when he was 14 and regularly occurred during "acting lessons" at Peck's house in Los Angeles.
Bell appeared on Today Monday to discuss the explosive aftermath of the series and told NBC's Kate Snow that the painting of "Killer Clown" Gacy made the actor question what Peck was capable of.
“Things were happening to me in a room where there’s a painting by one of the most prolific serial killers who preyed on young boys, staring at me,” the Drake & Josh star said. “So now, that puts into my mind: How far is this really going to go? How far can this go?”
He added that the painting was signed with a note reading, "From your good friend, John Wayne Gacy."
Gacy was one of the most prolific serial killers in American history, known for performing as a clown while torturing, raping, and killing young men and boys in the 1970s. After being convicted of 33 murders, he was sentenced to death and painted several works during his time on Death Row.
Former All That cast member Kyle Sullivan first recalled seeing the disturbing artwork in Peck's home in Quiet on Set. He described it as a painting of a clown holding balloons, claiming Peck was excited to show it off.
“Brian flipped the thing around and on the back it said, ‘To Brian, I hope you enjoy the painting. Best wishes, your friend, John Wayne Gacy,’” Sullivan said, adding that Peck had also collected letters Gacy had sent to him.
“Brian actually developed a pen pal relationship with John,” the child actor said. “He kept this pile of letters and photos from John Wayne Gacy in his nightstand next to his bed.”
In 2004, Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.
When asked why Bell chose to share his story in the docuseries, he told Snow, "Things were spiraling out of control, personally and mentally, and I thought, you know, maybe this could help in the healing process and also help others who have gone through the same situations or similar situations."
"What I've learned is that you're not alone. that's something I lived with for a very long time. Just thinking that I was alone in this. And now I get to see all of that in a clear picture and I get to go back and talk to that little boy," the actor added.