Former Cincy/LA Producer Busted on Child Porn Charges

The Feds clamped the cuffs on former Cincinnati/LA investigative producer and photographer Phil Drechsler.

Drechsler is accused of distributing over 100 child pornography videos while a member of an online chat group.

A warrant for his arrest was issued after a federal criminal complaint was filed in Los Angeles on April 18. According to the complaint, Drechsler interacted with the online group 145 times from August 17, 2020, to June 28, 2021.

“Drechsler shared 117 videos, 9 images, 2 gifs, and 1 link to shared file(s),” an FBI affidavit attached to the complaint wrote.

In the videos, a “prepubescent or early pubescent girl” appeared to engage in explicit sexual acts with a man.

Federal agents executed two search warrants on April 6: one for his Los Angeles home and the other for his person.

An FBI agent examined Drechsler’s phone and discovered evidence of child pornography in the recently deleted folder, the affidavit said.

“Drechsler stated that he could not tell the age of the individuals and did not think it was child pornography,” the FBI agent wrote in the affidavit. “I asked him if the individuals looked like adults or children and Drechsler confirmed that they looked like children.”

Last week, Drechsler’s wife informed the FBI that her husband drove to Ohio with a shotgun and two pistols.

She stated that Drechsler felt he “had nothing to live for” and wanted to “kill himself.” But before he could commit suicide, he wanted to say, “Goodbye,” to his daughter, who lived in Ohio, as well as visit his parents’ Toledo gravesite, the affidavit informed.

Drechsler was reportedly staying at a Cincinnati, where federal agents set up surveillance at the hotel and he was arrested.

“Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed a request to detain Drechsler,” WCPO reported.

WCPO did cover the story of their former employe’s arrest. The station says that Drechsler was an investigative producer and photographer from 2003 through 2012.

Drechsler most recently worked at KNBC in LA as an Investigative Producer.

He left the station a couple of months ago after taking a buyout from NBC.

After he posted his exit from KNBC, WCMH (Columbus) News Director Denise Eck reached out to Drechsler about possibly coming back to Ohio to work at the Nexstar station.

I don’t know about you, but I think Nexstar and Eck dodged a major bullet on this one.

Just saying…