American Ninja Warrior winner Drew Drechsel sentenced to 10 years for child sex crimes

Andrew "Drew" Drechel, a former winner of the reality competition series American Ninja Warrior, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for child sex crimes.

"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," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced on Friday.

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According to the attorney's office, law enforcement agents searched Drechsel's phone in November 2019 and "found images of child sexual abuse, including photos and videos of the victim when the victim was 14 and 15 years old." Drechsel engaged in sexual activity with the victim when they were underage and induced them to cross state lines to do so, making it a federal crime.

Drechsel was arrested in August 2020. His lawyer originally said that Drechsel intended to plead "not guilty," but he ended up pleading guilty last summer, and now his sentence has been passed down.

Drechsel was a repeat champion on American Ninja Warrior, an ongoing reality competition series in which contestants compete to finish complex obstacle courses in the fastest time. Based on the Japanese show Sasuke, the show proved very difficult for American players; it took seven seasons for a winner to complete all the final stages. Drechsel was the last player standing in seasons 8 and 10, but only achieved "total victory" in season 11, which aired in 2019. It was only a few months after his victory that police searched his phone and found the incriminating evidence of his relationship with the minor, which apparently began in 2015 after they met at an American Ninja Warrior event.

In addition to the 10-year prison term, Drechsel was also sentenced to 15 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to the victim.