A former producer on NBC Los Angeles was arrested in Cincinnati for distribution of child porn through an online chat group on April 21.
Phil Drechsler, 60, was a former WCPO investigative producer and photographer from 2003 through 2012. He was most recently living in the Los Angeles area.
According to the criminal complaint filed on April 18, Drechsler interacted with the online chat group 145 times from Aug. 17, 2020 through June 28, 2021.
“Drechsler shared 117 videos, 9 images, 2 gifs, and 1 link to shared file(s),” according to an FBI affidavit attached to the complaint.
According to the criminal complaint filed on April 18, Drechsler interacted with the online chat group 145 times from Aug. 17, 2020 through June 28, 2021 and “commented about 16 times” in the online group The Playground Lives.
According to the affidavit, Drechsler used an alias in the online groups.
On April 6, federal agents executed two search warrants; one for Drechsler’s Los Angeles home and the other for his person, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, an FBI agent examined Drechsler’s personal cellphone for evidence and found what appeared to be child pornography in the recently deleted folder. The agent wrote that he showed some of the images to Drechsler.
According to Drechsler’s wife he drove to Cincinatti with multiple guns indicating he had “nothing to live for”.
Drechsler is being held while awaiting extradition to Los Angeles.
WCPO contributed to this report.
