Drew Drechsel, the Season 11 winner of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior, was sentenced on June 26, 2024, to 121 months in federal prison, just over ten years, for child sex crimes involving a teenage girl he met through the parkour community.1U.S. Department of Justice. Florida Man Sentenced to 121 Months in Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography and Enticement of a Minor Chief U.S. District Judge Renée M. Bumb of the District of New Jersey imposed the Drew Drechsel sentence and added fifteen years of supervised release.
What the Sentence Included
Along with the 121-month prison term and fifteen years of supervised release, Judge Bumb ordered Drechsel to pay $100,000 in restitution to the victim.2NBC Connecticut. Former Hamden Man, American Ninja Warrior Contestant, to Serve 10 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation He was 35 at sentencing and listed as a resident of Saint Cloud, Florida, after previously living in Hamden, Connecticut, from 2014 through November 2019.
Drechsel pleaded guilty on June 1, 2023, to a two-count information:1U.S. Department of Justice. Florida Man Sentenced to 121 Months in Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography and Enticement of a Minor
- One count of receiving child pornography
- One count of knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing, and coercing a minor to travel interstate to engage in sexual activity
The case was docketed as United States v. Drechsel, No. 1:23-cr-00410, and the court record was terminated on June 27, 2024. Available records do not reflect any appeal to the Third Circuit.3CourtListener. United States v. Drechsel, 1:23-cr-00410
The Underlying Conduct
Prosecutors said Drechsel met the victim, a New Jersey teenager, in 2014 through the parkour community and his involvement with American Ninja Warrior.4People. Former American Ninja Warrior Champion Drew Drechsel Sentenced to 10 Years for Child Sex Crimes He admitted to texting her about sexual activity and urging her to travel across state lines. In July 2015 the victim traveled interstate at his direction and engaged in sexual relations with him.5USA Today. American Ninja Warrior Drew Drechsel Sentenced
The case opened after agents searched one of Drechsel’s phones on November 8, 2019, and found images of child sexual abuse along with photos and videos of the victim taken when she was 14 and 15.6Yahoo News. Former American Ninja Warrior Champion Sentenced
From Arrest to Plea
Drechsel was arrested in Saint Cloud, Florida, on August 4, 2020, and transferred to the District of New Jersey to face a federal complaint carrying four charges: manufacture of child pornography, enticement of a minor to travel for illicit sexual conduct, travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, and use of interstate commerce to entice a minor.7U.S. Department of Justice. Florida Man Charged With Child Sex Offenses in New Jersey A magistrate judge ordered him detained in September 2020, and he was held at the Essex County Correctional Facility.3CourtListener. United States v. Drechsel, 1:23-cr-00410 Nearly three years passed between the arrest and his guilty plea to the reduced two-count information.
Who Drechsel Was on the Show
Known as “the Real Life Ninja,” Drechsel was a Connecticut gym owner who co-operated the Real Life Ninja Academy chain with locations in New York and Connecticut.8NBC News. American Ninja Warrior Winner Drew Drechsel Arrested on Child Sex Crimes He won Season 11 of American Ninja Warrior in September 2019, taking the $1 million prize as only the second winner in the show’s history.9Deseret News. American Ninja Warrior Has Second Winner in Show’s 11 Seasons He had also served as a mentor on the spinoff American Ninja Warrior Junior, which featured competitors between 9 and 14 years old.
NBC’s Response
After the arrest, NBCUniversal said it was “shocked and disturbed,” called American Ninja Warrior a “family show,” and announced it would cut all ties with Drechsel, including removing him from future seasons.4People. Former American Ninja Warrior Champion Drew Drechsel Sentenced to 10 Years for Child Sex Crimes