Drew Drechsel, Winner Of 'American Ninja Warrior' Arrested For Pornography And Child Sex Crimes

"American Ninja Warrior" champion Andrew Drechsel was taken into custody Tuesday, Aug. 4, for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a minor.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Jersey, the 31-year-old Florida native allegedly sought to have sex with an underage girl and "traveled to New Jersey with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with that minor."

"He also enticed and coerced a minor to travel to Connecticut to engage in illicit sexual conduct and engaged in online sexual communications with a minor and induced her to manufacture sexually explicit images of herself and send them to Drechsel," the press release stated.

The criminal complaint stated the investigation began when the victim filed a police complaint in 2019 stating "she and Drechsel had a sexual relationship which began when she was 15 years old and he was 26."

For the victim’s 15th birthday, the accused allegedly invited her to his gym in Connecticut where they had a sexual encounter. Over the next two years, the two had sex multiple times. The complaint stated the accused had kept several explicit photos and videos of her on his old phone.

He was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with multiple offenses including "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."

The accused appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida on Tuesday before his transfer to the District of New Jersey.

Frank J. Riccio II, Drechsel's lawyer, issued a statement on Twitter saying, "Mr. Drechsel is presumed innocent of the charges and that presumption will remain throughout the pendency of his case. He intends on entering a 'not guilty' plea."

Meanwhile, the press release stated that, "If you have information regarding the pending prosecution, or you believe you or someone you know may have been victimized by the defendant, the FBI requests that you contact them at 1-800-CALL-FBI or report it at tips.fbi.gov. Identified victims may be eligible for certain services and rights under federal and/or state law."