CINCINNATI — A former WCPO investigative producer and photographer was arrested in Cincinnati and charged with distributing over 100 child pornography videos from 2020 to 2021.
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Phil Drechsler, 60, was arrested and charged Thursday for distributing over 100 child pornography videos while a member of the Telegram online chat group, “The Playground Lives,” WCPO reported.
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.
The affidavit also reported that Drechsler “commented about 16 times” in the group chat, using an alias.
As a result of his online activities, 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.”
On April 17, 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 Wingate Hotel in Cincinnati, according to what his wife told an FBI agent. Federal agents responded by surveilling the hotel.
Drechsler was booked into Butler County Jail an hour after his arrest.
“Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed a request to detain Drechsler,” WCPO reported.
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