Connecticut
EX-CT man gets federal prison in sex crime case. He has to pay the victim $100K.
A former Connecticut man and “American Ninja Warrior” champion was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for receiving child pornography and enticement to travel for illicit sexual conduct, according to federal authorities.
Andrew Drechsel, 35, now of Saint Cloud, Florida, pleaded guilty on June 1, 2023, before Chief U.S. District Judge Renée M. Bumb in New Jersey to an information charging him with one count of receiving child pornography and one count of knowingly persuading, inducing, enticing and coercing a minor to travel interstate to engage in sexual activity for which the defendant can be charged with a crime, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
Bumb imposed the sentence in Camden federal court, according to authorities. Bumb also sentenced Drechsel to 15 years of supervised release to pay $100,000 in restitution to the victim.
Authorities, citing documents in the case and statements made in court, said Drechsel lived in Hamden from 2014 to Nov. 8, 2019. The victim lived in New Jersey.
Law enforcement agents in 2019 searched one of Drechsel’s phones and “found images of child sexual abuse, including photos and videos of the victim when the victim was 14 and 15 years old,” authorities said in a statement. “Drechsel admitted that he originally met the victim in 2014 through his activities in the parkour community as an ‘American Ninja Warrior.’”
Authorities also said Drechsel “admitted texting the victim and discussing his plans to engage in sexual activity with the victim.” Further, “at Drechsel’s urging, the victim traveled across state lines in July 2015 so that Drechsel could have sexual relations with the victim.”
Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI South Jersey Resident Agency, under direction of Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. Sellinger also thanked the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office; the Cherry Hill Police Department; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut; special agents of the FBI New Haven Resident Agency; the Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office, Hartford Judicial District; the Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office, New Haven Judicial District; the Windsor Police Department; the Hamden Police Department; and special agents of the FBI Tampa Resident Agency.
Born on March 9, 1945, in East Hartford, Connecticut, to Robert and Mary (née Bragg) …
Temperatures will warm into the 50s for much of the state unless you’re at the shoreline or near the New York border.
Rain showers will begin in southwest Connecticut this afternoon before slowly spreading to the east through the evening
Much of the state will see rain tonight unless you’re in the far northeast corner of Connecticut.
A few showers could linger in southern and southeastern Connecticut tomorrow morning.
Clouds will linger through much of Sunday with temperatures in the 50s for more of the state.
Monday and Tuesday will be sunnier and seasonal with temperatures well into the 60s.
Cloud cover and rain chances return by the middle of the week.
Fairfield police announced that the Jennings Beach Carnival has been canceled for Saturday and Sunday.
The department made the announcement on their Facebook page and cited public safety concerns during Friday night’s event.
According to police, officers were called in large numbers, with help from the Bridgeport Police Department, to manage “unusually large and disorderly crowds.” Police said the crowd was made up mostly of unsupervised juveniles.
Police said that throughout Friday evening, there were multiple incidents where attendees believed shots had been fired or that fights had broken out, which led to “panic, chaos, and crowd surges.”
Officers who were at the scene already looked into the reports and found no evidence that shots had been fired.
According to police, the size and movement of the crowds caused some families to be separated and required officers to reconnect parents with their children. Police said they also got numerous reports of fights and disturbances in different areas of the Jennings Beach grounds and parking lots.
Large groups also began running in multiple directions, including some into surrounding neighborhoods, police said. Crowds numbering in the hundreds also gathered at the Chick-fil-A and surrounding businesses, where other fights broke out, and people illegally congregated, needing more police and help from the Connecticut State Police.
Police said the decision to cancel the carnival was made in the interest of public safety and supported by the McKindley PTA, which sponsored the carnival.
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