Featured Image Credit: Seminole County Sheriff's Office/Ninja Warrior/Facebook
Topics: US News, Crime, Film and TV
Ella Scott
Topics: US News, Crime, Film and TV
Warning: this article contains discussion of child sexual abuse that some may find distressing to read.
A former American Ninja Warrior star has been sentenced to jail for child exploitation after engaging in a sexual relationship with a teenager.
Andrew Drechsel, 35, who won season 11 of the beloved game show, has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography and knowingly enticing and coercing a minor to travel interstate to engage in sex, the US Attorney’s Office in New Jersey confirmed.
The Florida resident appeared in court on 1 June and was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Renée M. Bumb to more than 10 years in prison.
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Additionally, Drechsel must serve 15 years of supervised release and pay the victim $100,000 in restitution, according to official court documents.
As per the filing, in 2014 the ex-NBC athlete was living in Hamden, Connecticut when he allegedly met with the minor through his activities in the parkour community as an ‘American Ninja Warrior’.
At the time, the victim was 14 years old and living in New Jersey while Dreschel was 26.
Drechsel admitted he continued to exchange text messages with the victim to ‘discuss his plans to engage in sexual activity’ and in July 2015 urged her to travel across state lines to meet with him.
According to The New York Post, the juvenile travelled to Connecticut for her 15th birthday.
While coming forward about the incident in 2019, she allegedly told police that, after arriving in Connecticut, she and Drechsel had sex in his gym after his girlfriend left the establishment.
The victim also claimed that she and Drechsel had sex multiple times in New Jersey when she was between the ages of 15 of 17, as per the publication.
In 2019 November, law enforcement searched one of Drechsel’s mobile phones, finding images of child sexual abuse - including photos and videos of the victim when she was 14 and 15.
During the court case, Judge Bumb charged Drechsel with one count of receiving child pornography and one count of knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing and coercing a minor to travel interstate to engage in sexual activity for which the defendant can be charged with a crime.
Following the Saint Cloud resident’s initial arrest in 2020, NBC Universal and the American Ninja Warrior’s production company, A. Smith & Co. released a statement to NBC Philadelphia.
“We are shocked and disturbed to learn about the charges alleged against Drew Drechsel," the statement read.
"American Ninja Warrior is a family show that has inspired countless people, and we will not let the actions of one contestant tarnish the hard work and amazing stories of so many.”
NBC has since cut all ties with the athlete. During his time on American Ninja Warrior, he won $1 million and competed in eight seasons.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.