Former American Ninja Warrior winner Andrew 'Drew' Drechsel has been sentenced to greater than 10 years in jail for a number of little one intercourse offence expenses.
On Wednesday, the USA Lawyer's Workplace for New Jersey confirmed in a press launch that the 35-year-old man was 'sentenced to 121 months in jail for receiving little one pornography and engaging an individual to journey for unlawful sexual conduct.'
The disgraced actuality star, greatest identified for profitable season 11 of American Ninja Warrior in 2019, was arrested at his dwelling in St. Cloud, Florida in 2020.
On June 1, 2023, Drechsel 'pleaded responsible earlier than Chief U.S. District Choose Renee M. Bumb to an data' that charged him with receiving little one pornography and knowingly persuading, inducing, engaging, and coercing a minor to journey interstate to have interaction in sexual exercise for which the defendant could also be charged with a criminal offense.'
Based on a information launch from the lawyer's workplace, the choose sentenced Drechsel to fifteen years of supervised launch and ordered him to pay $100,000 in restitution to the sufferer along with the jail time.
Former American Ninja Warrior winner Andrew 'Drew' Drechsel has been sentenced to greater than 10 years in jail for a number of little one intercourse crime expenses.
On Wednesday, the USA Lawyer's Workplace for New Jersey confirmed in a press launch that he acquired a sentence of 121 months in jail for 'receiving little one pornography and enticement to journey for unlawful sexual conduct.'
Paperwork obtained by DailyMail.com reveal that Drechsel, identified by the nickname 'Actual Life Ninja', allegedly started a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old woman in New Jersey in 2015.
Drechsel met his alleged sufferer at an American Ninja Warrior aggressive occasion, the place they exchanged numbers and commenced messaging one another.
Throughout their alleged correspondence, Drechsel organized for the woman — who lived in New Jersey on the time — to return to his fitness center, the Actual Life Ninja Academy in Hamden, Connecticut, in July 2015 as a present for her fifteenth birthday.
The 2 exchanged textual content messages about “planning sexual exercise” previous to her go to, the grievance states.
Whereas visiting the fitness center, Drechsel and the woman allegedly obtained intimate in his workplace after his girlfriend, April Beckner, left.
Prosecutors say Drechsel had a mattress and blanket arrange behind a wall in his workplace, the place he allegedly had intercourse with the teenager.
The woman informed her mom concerning the alleged sexual encounter later that day.
When the mom requested Drechsel concerning the incident, she claimed he 'didn’t deny the sexual exercise however said that he didn’t know her age on the time.'
Prosecutors say Drechsel contacted the sufferer once more a number of weeks later and so they mentioned having intercourse once more.
The Ninja Warrior champion allegedly informed the sufferer that the following time they meet, they “gained't have time to take care of it” like final time. [victim’s] Disgrace and cowardice'.
The teenager is reported to have confessed that though she was terrified, it wouldn't occur once more.
Drechsel is alleged to have replied, “Psh, we'll see,” to which the woman replied that she can be “higher” for him the following time they met.
The disgraced actuality star, greatest identified for profitable season 11 of American Ninja Warrior in 2019, was arrested at her dwelling in St. Cloud, Florida in 2020 (seen in 2019)
The next January, Drechsel messaged the woman, telling her he was shifting from Connecticut to New Jersey and informed her he wished to satisfy for an additional sexual encounter.
He allegedly picked the teenage woman up from her dwelling and drove her to the parking zone of a restaurant in Marlton, the place they’d intercourse.
After reviewing Drechsel's checking account exercise, investigators stated $37.76 was charged to his card at a Marlton restaurant on Jan. 2, 2016 — the identical day the woman claimed the intercourse occurred.
Based on the woman, Drechsel picked up the meals after the assembly ended so he may have an excuse to inform his girlfriend when he obtained dwelling.
Based on the grievance, the woman claimed that they’d sexual relations a number of instances when she was between 15 and 17 years previous.
In addition they had common conversations over Skype, the place Drechsel allegedly instructed the woman to take away all of her garments on a number of events and videoed the conversations on his cellphone with out her data.
Based on the grievance, investigators discovered sexual images and video footage of the woman on Drechsel's previous cellphone. One of many images was taken when she was simply 14 years previous.
In a single message change on June 26, 2016, when the woman was 16, Drechsel allegedly messaged her, “Skype now?”
The woman responded that she didn't really feel snug video chatting with Drechsel, and reportedly additionally stated she felt 'Drechel wasn't having fun with it.'
Drechsel reportedly reassured her, saying, “It's all the time enjoyable for me, you're all the time nice and I want I used to be there that will help you.”
Drechsel and Beckner welcomed their first little one, a boy, in December 2019
The grievance states that the sufferer got here ahead to the police in June 2019. Officers spoke to the woman's mom, who confirmed that her daughter had informed her all the things when the sexual relationship started.
Based on the mom, she didn’t report the incident to the police at the moment as a result of her daughter had threatened to hurt herself if she did so.
The fees in opposition to Drechsel embrace manufacturing of kid pornography, engaging a minor to journey for illegal intercourse, touring with the intent to have illegal intercourse with a minor, and utilizing interstate commerce to entice a minor.
On the time, Drechsel's lawyer, Frank Riccio, stated his shopper deliberate to disclaim all expenses.
“Mr. Drechsel is presumed harmless of the costs and that presumption will stay in place pending the trial of his case,” Riccio tweeted. “He intends to plead “not responsible.” You’re kindly requested to respect the privateness of Mr. Drechsel and his household.”
Drechsel and Beckner welcomed their first little one, a boy, in December 2019.
Inside hours of the grievance being launched, Beckner deleted his public social media profiles and Drechsel made his Instagram account non-public.
Drechsel, who climbed the profitable rope for Crew USA within the 2019 “USA vs. the World” American Ninja Warrior competitors, additionally competed on Crew USA in 2020.
