‘American Ninja Warrior’ Champion Sentenced to Prison for Sex with 14-Year-Old Girl

Thirty-five-year-old Andrew Drechsel, a former "American Ninja Warrior" champion, was sent
Seminole County Sheriff's Office
Amy Furr

A former American Ninja Warrior champion who lives in Saint Cloud, Florida, has been sentenced to prison for multiple child sex crimes.

Thirty-five-year-old Andrew Drechsel was sentenced to over ten years behind bars after having a sexual relationship with a teenage girl in 2014, People reported on Friday:

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey detailed the case in a press release on Wednesday:

Andrew Drechsel, 35, of Saint Cloud, Florida, pleaded guilty on June 1, 2023, before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée M. Bumb to an information charging him 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. Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

…

From 2014 to Nov. 8, 2019, Drechsel lived in Hamden, Connecticut. His victim lived in New Jersey. 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 the victim was 14 and 15 years old. Drechsel admitted that he originally met the victim in 2014 through his activities in the parkour community as an “American Ninja Warrior.” Drechsel admitted texting the victim and discussing his plans to engage in sexual activity with the victim. At Drechsel’s urging, the victim traveled across state lines in July 2015 so that Drechsel could have sexual relations with the victim.

NBC reportedly cut ties with Drechsel when he was arrested for the crimes, NBC’s Mike Sington said in 2020. He also noted the network “will edit him out of ‘American Ninja Warrior,’” as “he was a competitor in the season which is set to air this fall”:

Drechsel was also sentenced to 15 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to the victim, the attorney’s office noted.

Video footage shows a large crowd cheering for Drechsel as he competed on American Ninja Warrior:

According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network’s (RAINN) website, “Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse that includes sexual activity with a minor. A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity, period.”

“When a perpetrator engages with a child this way, they are committing a crime that can have lasting effects on the victim for years,” the site reads.

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