Drew Drechsel has been cut from Ninja Warrior in the US. Photo / NBC
Drew Drechsel has been cut from Ninja Warrior in the US. Photo / NBC
Last night's Ninja Warrior episode on Three had to be edited after a US contestant was charged with child sex charges.
Drew Drechsel, who competed in Ninja Warrior Australia v The World, was charged with manufacture of child pornography, enticement of a minor to travel for illicit sexual conduct, travelwith the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and use of interstate commerce to entice a minor, USA Today first reported earlier this month.
Instead of Dreschel's participation in the obstacle courses, New Zealand viewers of Monday's episode were shown a graphic, pointing out the show had been edited. "Due to current legal proceedings in the US, the following program has been edited."
Channel Nine earlier explained the edit to Australian viewers and why it had occurred. "Due to legal proceedings currently involving one of the members of team USA, Channel Nine has made the decision not to show his run in tonight's episode of Ninja Warrior Australia v The World," a Nine spokesperson told Australian streaming siteTV Black Box.
According to US reports, a teenager filed a criminal complaint, alleging she first met Drechsel, 29, in 2014 at an event attended by other American Ninja Warrior contestants. The two exchanged numbers at the event and began texting each other, her complaint said.
During the summer of 2015, Drechsel invited the New Jersey girl, who was 15 at the time, to his gym in Connecticut, where the two had sex, according to the complaint.
The girl's mother confronted Drechsel when she found out, according to the complaint.
The mother told investigators Drechsel did not deny having sex with the teen, but stated "he did not know her age at the time," the complaint said.
