A Connecticut man who once won “American Ninja Warrior” was sentenced in New Jersey on Thursday to 10 years in prison for child exploitation, officials announced.
Andrew Drechsel will also have to serve 15 years of supervised release once he completes his prison term and must pay the victim $100,000 in restitution, according to a statement from Philip Sellinger, the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey.
The sentencing comes a year after Drechsel pleaded guilty to counts of possessing child pornography and enticement to travel for illicit sexual conduct.
Drechsel was living in Connecticut when he met the 14-year-old victim, who is from New Jersey, in 2014 after an “American Ninja Warrior” contestant event, according to court documents. He was in his mid-20s at the time.
The pair went on to exchange text messages before he convinced the victim to cross state lines in July 2015. Drechsel later confessed they had sexual relations at a gym he owned in Hamden.
They remained in touch and continued to see each other until 2019, with the girl sometimes going to Connecticut and Drechsel going to New Jersey on other occasions.
On Nov. 8, 2019, law enforcement agents searched one of Drechsel’s phones and found images of child sexual abuse, including photos and videos of the victim when she was 14 and 15 years old, according to court documents.
Drechsel rose to fame on the reality competition show “American Ninja Warrior,” which sees contestants test their strength and endurance on a series of challenging obstacle courses.
Dreschsel won season 11 of the NBC hit and served as a mentor on “American Ninja Warrior Junior,” a spinoff show in for children between the ages of 9 and 14.
With News Wire Services
