Kirk Cameron Recalls Uncomfortable Moments When Child Molester Brian Peck Worked on 'Growing Pains'
Former teen heartthrob Kirk Cameron is weighing in on Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, the docuseries that exposed Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider's toxic work environment and dialogue coach Brian Peck's sexual abuse of actor Drake Bell.
Cameron, 53, confessed he was always wary of Peck, 63, who once worked on Growing Pains, the show that made the former a star.
"So, the evil, the darkness, the twisted sickness of Hollywood has been going on for a long time," he spilled. "I started acting when I was 9 years old. I began Growing Pains at 14 years old. And I was suspicious that that stuff was going on behind the curtains even when I was working on Growing Pains."
"And there were several young boys like us that he [Peck] interacted with on a regular basis," the Golden Globe nominee noted, possibly referring to old costar Leonardo DiCaprio.
"So, it’s shocking," he declared. "It’s sickening."
Cameron also recalled Peck being extra touchy with DiCaprio, something that was shown on the docuseries.
"That's the kind of thing you would see and make you pause and go, 'There's a little flag on the field,' but not enough to prove something worse," the dad-of-six explained of why Peck was never reprimanded.
"Thank God I got out of there unscathed in the 1980s. Those people who did this stuff to these kids are the same kind of people in the industry today," he insisted. "Still making twisted, sick, perverted material that’s hurting children today. And they need to be completely rooted out and replaced."
“But it’s too late,” Cameron continued. “These children, like Drake Bell … they have scars that they will carry with them permanently throughout their life.”
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"The consensus was these individuals were charming, they ingratiated themselves into their victims' lives and were generally likable people when they were putting the 'nice guy' face on," he continued. "It was like your 'Spidey-senses' told you something's not right. They were handsy and physical in a smarmy kind of way. But not so overt that you could totally detect what was happening."
As OK! reported, Bell, 37, revealed he was secretly sexually assaulted by Peck on multiple occasions when the Amanda Show alum was only 15.
"I was sleeping on the couch where I would usually sleep. I woke up to him — I opened my eyes, I woke up and he was sexually assaulting me," he disclosed on Quiet on Set. "I froze and was in complete shock and had no idea what to do or how to react, and I have no idea how to get out of this situation."
At first, Bell listened to Peck when he told him their careers would be ruined if he let anyone know what was happening, but he eventually summoned the courage to inform his mother, who called the cops.
In 2004, Peck was convicted and served 16 months in prison.
Daily Wire spoke to Cameron.