Ex-Ninja Warrior Charged In Sex Assault Of Cherry Hill Teen: FBI

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A former champion from the series “American Ninja Warrior” has been arrested and charged with having a sexual relationship with a teenage girl from Cherry Hill, federal authorities announced.

Andrew Drechsel, 31, of Saint Cloud, Florida, was arrested on Tuesday, according to U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito.

Dreschel is charged by complaint with manufacture of child pornography, enticement of a minor to travel for illicit sexual conduct, travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, and use of interstate commerce to entice a minor.

“Mr. Dreschel is presumed innocent of the charges, and that presumption will remain throughout the pendency of his case,” Attorney Frank J. Riccio said in a social media post. “He intends on entering a not guilty plea.”

Dreschel won the Season 11 championship on “American Ninja Warrior,” a sports entertainment competition that airs on NBC.

The girl, who is now 19, told authorities she began a sexual relationship with Dreschel when she was 15 and Dreschel was 26, according to a criminal complaint. The girl’s mother told authorities she knew about the relationship, but her daughter threatened to harm herself if she went to the authorities.

The girl said she first met Dreschel in 2014, after an event that was attended by a number of “American Ninja Warrior” contestants. They continued to communicate via text message for the next five years, according to authorities.

On July 6, 2015, Dreschel invited the girl to his gym in Connecticut for a sexual encounter that he described to her as her “15th birthday present,” according to authorities.

She told her mother about the encounter the following day, authorities said. When the mother confronted Dreschel, she said he didn’t deny the incident. Instead, he told her he didn’t know how old the girl was.

They continued to exchange messages, and met up for a second encounter in January 2016. This time, they had a sexual encounter in his car in the parking lot of a restaurant in Marlton, authorities said.

Throughout the duration of the relationship, Dreschel had a girlfriend that he hid the relationship from. He also directed the girl to communicate with him via Skype, and be nude at the time, so that he could masturbate and she could watch, authorities said.

The girl reported the relationship to Cherry Hill police on June 23 of last year, authorities said. In November, authorities executed a pair of search warrants in which they seized his phone, authorities said. The phone included several pornographic images of the girl from the time she was 14 until she was 16, according to authorities.

If convicted, Dreschel faces up to life in prison for the interstate commerce charge; up to 20 years in prison for enticement to travel for illicit sexual conduct; up to 30 years in prison for the count of travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct; and 15-30 years in prison for the manufacture of child pornography. All of the counts also carry a maximum fine of $250,000 per count.