A former “American Ninja Warrior” champion was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for child exploitation after engaging in a years-long sexual relationship with a teenage girl.
Andrew Drechsel, 35, must additionally serve 15 years of supervised release and pay the victim $100,000 in restitution, Chief US District Judge Renée M. Bumb ruled in New Jersey on Wednesday.
Drechsel — who won $1 million on the hit competition show and competed in eight seasons — pleaded guilty on June 1 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 announced.
The victim, a New Jersey resident who came forward in 2019, claimed they met and exchanged phone numbers at a parkour event in 2014 that was attended by several “American Ninja Warrior” contestants when she was just 14 years old, a criminal complaint states.
Dreschel was 26 at the time.
For her 15th birthday in 2015, Drechsel invited the girl to his gym in his then-hometown of Hamden, Connecticut, where the two had sex after his girlfriend left the establishment, the victim told police.
Over the next two years, they remained in touch. The victim told authorities she and Drechsel had sex multiple times around New Jersey when she was between the ages of 15 of 17.
On Nov. 8, 2019, police searched one of Drechsel’s phones and found images of child sexual abuse — including photos and videos of the victim.
Dreschel, who was most recently living in Florida, won season 11 of “American Ninja Warrior.” After his arrest, NBC announced it would cut all ties with the athlete.