The acting teacher who sexually abused Drake Bell was also a pen pal with serial killer John Wayne Gacy

• Brian Peck, the dialogue coach who sexually abused Drake Bell, was friends with John Wayne Gacy.

• “All That” actor Kyle Sullivan says Peck had a self-portrait of the serial killer.

• Sullivan also says that Peck had letters and photographs from John Wayne Gacy.

Brian Peck, the disgraced Nickelodeon acting and dialogue coach who sexually abused then-15-year-old actor Drake Bell, also had an ominous connection to real-life serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

New revelations about Peck are part of Investigation Discovery’s four-part documentary series”Peace on set: The dark side of children’s televisionwhich premieres over two nights on Sunday and Monday. In the second episode, former “All That” cast member Kyle Sullivan talks about his experiences working with Peck.

“Everyone loved Brian,” says Sullivan. “He was charming, he was smart and he was always there.”

“All the parents loved him too. Everyone trusted Brian,” adds Sullivan.

Sullivan, who was 14 at the time, recalled that the cast and crew went to Peck’s house for a barbecue when he noticed something strange.

“His house was a little out of the way,” says Sullivan. “He had a room dedicated to just old toys and comic books. And he turned his garage into a Planet of the Apes shrine. I noticed a painting in the room that caught my eye because it had nothing to do with Planet of the Apes. It was a birthday clown holding balloons.”

“Brian was really excited when I asked him about it,” the actor continues. “He turned it over and on the back it said, ‘For Brian, I hope you like the painting. All the best, your friend John Wayne Gacy.'”

Gacy was known as the “killer clown” because he dressed as a clown and was convicted of raping and murdering 33 boys and young men in the 1970s. Sullivan said Peck saw nothing wrong with owning a selfie of the serial killer.

Sullivan says Peck also proudly showed the painting to the other parents and children at the house party.

“Brian actually developed a pen pal relationship with John,” says Sullivan. “He had a stack of letters and photos of John Wayne Gacy in his nightstand next to his bed. He pulled them out and started showing them to me.”

Sullivan admits that he ignored Peck’s disturbing connection to the serial killer.

“When you’ve known someone for so long, your instinct is to give them the benefit of the doubt, even when there are really bad signs,” he says. “It was one of those classic mistakes of group psychology. This man you basically trusted to be the caregiver for your children is not safe.”

Peck was arrested months later in August 2003 on 11 counts of child sexual abuse, specifically in connection with a child actor. It was not until “Quiet on Set” that Drake Bell (“The Amanda Show,” “Drake & Josh”) revealed that he was the unknown actor Peck had abused at the age of 15.

When Peck’s verdict was announced in October 2004, the courtroom was full of supporters on the dialogue trainer’s side, including some well-known stars.

41 letters in support of Peck were written to the judge by Hollywood stars, including James Marsden, Alan Thicke and “Life and Me” stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong.

Peck was sentenced to 16 months in prison in October 2004 and was required to register as a sex offender. He later found work in three episodes of the Disney Channel sitcom The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, which aired in 2006 and 2007.

Rich Correll, the episodes’ director, and Beth Correll, the first assistant director, said in a statement to the producers of “Quiet on Set” that they had “no influence or involvement in the casting” of Peck on the Disney show. They also said that when they asked Peck about the case, he “simply responded that ‘the problem was solved.'”

Kate Taylor served as executive producer of Quiet on Set. The four-part docuseries is produced by Maxine Productions, a division of Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction, in association with Business Insider. Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz are directing.

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