Drew Drechsel, a former American , Ninja Warrior , hero whom a federal prosecutor described as a “dangerous prey” was sentenced to just over 10 years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to manufacturing baby sex and enticing an underage , South Jersey  , girl to go for sex.
According to prosecutors, Drechsel met the target in 2014 after an American , Ninja Warrior , participant function, where they exchanged numbers and began texting each other. She was 14 at the time.
In , July 2015, the girl and Drechsel, next 26, texted about her visiting the , New Era Ninja Gym , in , Hamden, Conn., which Drechsel owned, as a 15th holiday present.
During her visit, prosecutors said, the two had gender after Drechsel’s girl left the gym. The next day, the girl told her mother about the experience. When her mom confronted Drechsel, he did not deny having intercourse with the child but claimed he had not been aware of her time.
However, Drechsel continued to observe her, having sex with her repeatedly over the course of the next two decades. Additionally, a video and images of the child from the 14 to 16 years old were discovered during a forensic examination of Drechsel’s mobile phone.
” To this day I still cannot get out of my mind how he took advantage of me while I was a baby, and the influx of PTSD those feelings provoke”, the girl, today in her late- 20s, said in court Wednesday at Drechsel’s punishment. ” Drew is risky. It takes a prey to start kids ‘ gyms all over the country and then prey on the girls who enter those facilities.
Lawyers in , U. S. District Court , in , Camden , even presented evidence from another person who recounted how Drechsel groomed her when she was 16 and a scholar at one of his facilities, then continued a connection with her for six months before ending it to time her best friend, who was also young.
The woman told the judge that shortly after she and Drechsel broke up, he raped her at a party at his house while she was drunk, and urged U. S. District Judge , Renée Bumb , to impose the longest possible sentence. The woman claimed to have reported the crime to police several years later, but no charges were brought in connection with either the behavior she described in court.
Both women claimed Drechsel arranged them for sexual relationships by using his celebrity status. More than ten years later, they claimed that the grooming and abuse still bother them and made them unable to trust themselves and their loved ones.
Drechsel, who admitted having sex with her when she was a teenager, said he had loved her at the time and made an apology. He also praised his past four years of efforts to assist others while incarcerated, provide GED tutoring to other prisoners, and participate on the prison’s suicide watch team.
” A simple’ I’m sorry’ does n’t cut it”, Drechsel said. Nothing can adequately express the shame, embarrassment, and regret I experience in my soul.
The judge, however, challenged him for what she saw as a lack of consideration for the consequences of his actions
” You thought you were such a celebrity, such a big shot that you could take advantage of people, of children”, Bumb told Drechsel. Do superheroes actually do that?
” No ma ‘m”, he replied.
Ultimately, Bumb sided with prosecutors when she imposed the 121- month sentence. Drechsel’s attorney had sought a 96- month prison term, arguing that Dreschel’s efforts to improve himself since his arrest merited a lighter sentence. The judge also ordered Dreschel to register as a sex offender and pay the woman$ 100, 000 in restitution.
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