Nickelodeon was 'infiltrated' by PREDATORS, records reveal. Channel employed FIVE convicted child molesters and two other accused pedophiles to work on set of kids shows

Nickelodeon employed or worked with five child molesters as well as two others accused of pedophilia, court records show.

Child safety activists claim the channel was infiltrated by predators who saw the power it gave them as a way to get close to their victims.

Two of the offenders were highlighted in a new HBO documentary about alleged child abuse at the channel.

But legal records show that convicted and accused pedophiles' prior involvement with the channel was far more extensive.

Nickelodeon says it has since improved its safeguards.

Legal records reviewed by DailyMail.com show Nickelodeon employed more accused and convicted pedophiles than previously disclosed

Marty Weiss, a talent manager who placed clients on top Nickelodeon shows, was convicted for 'lewd acts' with a 12-year-old male client

Ezell Channel, 54, was convicted in 2003 for 'lewd acts' with a child under 14. He was released on probation less than two years later, and hired as a production assistant at Nickelodeon despite his conviction 

Molesters include Jason Handy, a Nickelodeon production assistant who had sexual contact with a nine-year-old girl; and Ezell Channel, hired as a production assistant at the cable channel after a child sex offense conviction, then arrested for sexually assaulting an underage teen at the studio.

Marty Weiss, a talent manager who placed clients on top Nickelodeon shows, was later convicted for 'lewd acts' with a 12-year-old male client.

Jason Handy was a Nickelodeon production assistant who had sexual contact with a nine-year-old girl

And Cody Longo, late star of TeenNick 2012 show Hollywood Heights, was accused of sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl in Colorado in 2019 and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge two years later.

The HBO documentary Quiet on Set: the Dark Side of Kids TV also detailed the conviction of former Nickelodeon dialogue coach and actor Brian Peck, who molested child star Drake Bell when he was 15.

He went on to work at Disney after his conviction.

Bell himself was later convicted of distributing child porn, after allegations emerged that he groomed and sexually abused a 15-year-old.

A Nickelodeon spokesperson told DailyMail.com it ‘investigates all formal complaints’ and is committed to ‘fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct.’

Gabe Hoffman, a child safety activist, previously exposed child molesters who worked at Nickelodeon and other Hollywood studios in his 2014 documentary An Open Secret.

He told DailyMail.com the problem persists.

'Convicted pedophiles still get hired in Hollywood today,' he said. 'Sex offenders worked with children at Nickelodeon, and unless the industry makes changes, more children in Hollywood will end up getting abused.'

Ezell Channel, 54, was convicted in 2003 for 'lewd acts' with a child under 14. He was released on probation less than two years later, and hired as a production assistant at Nickelodeon despite his conviction.

A mother reported him to police in 2005 after he started spending time with her teenage son and she found him on the Megan's Law sex offender registry website.

Prosecutors accused Channel of luring a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old into the studio, showing them pornography and inappropriately touching them in November 2005.

He was convicted again, but released in 2010 according to Megan's Law data. The site says he is now homeless, living in Los Angeles.

The HBO documentary Quiet on Set: the Dark Side of Kids TV also detailed the conviction of former Nickelodeon dialogue coach and actor Brian Peck, who molested child star Drake Bell when he was 15 

Cody Longo, child star of Nickelodeon show Hollywood Heights, was accused of sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl in Colorado in 2019 and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge two years later

Former Nickelodeon adult performer Joby Harte, 42, (right) was found liable for repeatedly sexually abusing Disney star and Forever In Your Mind boyband member Ricky Garcia (left) 

Handy, another Nickelodeon production assistant, sent pictures of himself masturbating to Brandi, a child guest actor on the Amanda Bynes Show in 2003, her mother MJ told the HBO documentary.

Police investigated and found Handy, 49, described himself as a 'pedophile, full blown' in his private journal.

In 2004 Handy pleaded no contest to felony counts of lewd acts on a nine-year-old child, distributing sexually explicit material, and a misdemeanor of child sexual exploitation, and was sentenced to six years in prison.

He also reoffended, charged again in North Carolina in 2014 for indecent liberties with a child and sex offender registry violations. He is currently in federal prison in Virginia and not due for release until 2038.

Weiss, 58, was a Hollywood talent manager who repped child clients placed on Nickelodeon's iCarly show and Disney's Good Luck Charlie.

One former client told police in 2012 that Weiss molested him about 30-40 times over a three-year period when the boy was 11 or 12 years old.

In June 2012 was sentenced to one year in county jail and five years of probation.

According to Megan's Law data, he was released the same year, meaning he served less than six months after his sentencing. He now lives in North Hollywood.

A California law was passed in 2012 to stop convicted pedophiles working with child actors by requiring background checks and permits.

The new HBO documentary devotes two episodes to Dan Schneider, a controversial producer of several successful kids shows on Nickelodeon 

On a poster for the show All That, Peck wrote Dan Schneider a message that read, 'You can dip my pickle in dill juice any time' 

But Open Secret documentary producer Hoffman told DailyMail.com that those regulations are being flouted.

'Investigations have demonstrated this important law is mostly ignored by Hollywood, and state and local law enforcement appear to have little interest in enforcing it,' he said.

'For example, in 2018, Olivia Munn was forced to publicly out a convicted pedophile actor in the film Predator, a set on which minors were present, as the Director and Studio refused to act. She was later shunned by her co-stars for doing so.

Jennette McCurdy (pictured with Dan Schneider in 2013) has said she was 'dating' a producer in their 30s when she was 15 during her role on Nickelodeon show iCarly

'Why do the big Hollywood unions, such as SAG-AFTRA, allow convicted pedophiles to remain members?'

As well as criminal convictions for child sex offenses by people close to the channel, civil claims and public allegations have been made against two others.

Just this month former Nickelodeon adult performer Joby Harte, 42, was found liable for repeatedly sexually abusing Disney star and Forever In Your Mind boyband member Ricky Garcia, in a civil trial that awarded Garcia $6.5 million.

Harte, a British ex-TV presenter and talent manager, appeared in episodes of Nickelodeon show True Jackson VP, which ran from 2008 to 2011, and worked as a warm-up act for live audiences in 2012 and 2013 tapings.

And John Kricfalusi, the creator of Nickelodeon show Ren & Stimpy, was accused of sexual misconduct with two teenage girls he employed.

Kricfalusi's lawyer admitted in 2018 that 'for a brief time, 25 years ago, he had a 16-year-old girlfriend', and described his behavior towards one of the girls as an 'avid pursuit', not sexual harassment.

Rumors have swirled of inappropriate behavior or failed safeguarding of famous cast members of Nickelodeon shows.

Jamie Lynn Spears got pregnant at 16 while starring in Zoey 101, and Jennette McCurdy has said she was 'dating' a producer in their 30s when she was 15 during her role on Nickelodeon show iCarly.

A source close to Nickelodeon said Spears had finished taping the show when she announced her pregnancy. 

Schneider tweeted in January 2010: 'Little @ArianaGrande from @Victorious smiles at one of her co-star's feet! But WHOSE FOOT IS IT?'

In May 2010 he wrote: 'Toes: similar to fingers, but not NEARLY as good. Who agrees?'

In 2012, Schneider posted a photo of someone's foot, writing 'This TOE belongs to one of the stars of one of my shows' 

In May 2010 Schneider tweeted a link to the clip: 'Video! Would you like to see @VictoriaJustice pour ketchup all over her feet? Well, here ya go'

In September 2013 he appeared to solicit feet pictures from his kids show audience, writing: 'SAM & CAT TOMORROW! Write on the bottom of ur foot, take a pic and use #SAMandCATSaturday we'll RT and follow until our fingers get sore!'

On March 9, 2013 he wrote to another Twitter user: '@HungryGIrl Do you want to go for a drive? Do you want to go into our room and watch Too Cute (we have four on our DVR). I'll rub your feet'

The new HBO documentary devotes two episodes to Dan Schneider, a controversial producer of several successful kids shows on Nickelodeon.

Quiet on Set did not accuse Schneider of any sexual misconduct with the children on set, but aired allegations of bullying, sexism and racism which he has denied.

It also highlighted uncomfortable and sexually suggestive scenes Schneider had his child stars act out – including Ariana Grande, Amanda Bynes and Victoria Justice.

One of the most gratuitous involved Grande lying with her head over the edge of a bed, gasping as she poured water on her face, and another scene in which she gripped a long potato and talked about squeezing the juice from it.

Fans of the channel have for years pointed to an apparent fascination with feet by the showrunner, which emerged in footage from the show and social media posts by Schneider.

Justice had ketchup poured on her feet in one Nickelodeon show.

In May 2010 Schneider tweeted a link to the clip: 'Video! Would you like to see @VictoriaJustice pour ketchup all over her feet? Well, here ya go'.

Schneider tweeted in January 2010: 'Little @ArianaGrande from @Victorious smiles at one of her co-star's feet! But WHOSE FOOT IS IT?' In May that year he wrote: 'Toes: similar to fingers, but not NEARLY as good. Who agrees?'

The documentary highlighted uncomfortable  scenes Schneider had his child stars act out – including one where he was in a hot tub with Amanda Bynes 

On March 9, 2013 he wrote to another Twitter user: '@HungryGIrl Do you want to go for a drive? Do you want to go into our room and watch Too Cute (we have four on our DVR). I'll rub your feet.'

And in September 2013 he appeared to solicit feet pictures from his kids show audience, writing: 'SAM & CAT TOMORROW! Write on the bottom of ur foot, take a pic and use #SAMandCATSaturday we'll RT and follow until our fingers get sore!'

In an interview with the New York Times in 2021, Schneider denied he was motivated by a foot fetish, describing his shows' comedy as 'totally innocent' adding that kids find feet 'goofy and funny'.

But in the HBO documentary, former Nickelodeon writer Christy Stratton said that he named a character played by then-underage Amanda Bynes 'Penelope Taynt' because 'the taint is a part of the body that is between the penis and the anus'.

'Dan had said to us in the writers room 'don't tell what this word really means.' He wanted us to keep that a secret,' Stratton said.

In a response to the documentary, Schneider said he regretted some of his harsh treatment of staff at Nickelodeon and behavior including accepting massages from young cast members, but added that all shows were signed off by multiple adults.  

A Nickelodeon spokesperson told DailyMail.com: ‘Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct.’