Pro Bowler Brandon Novak was arrested on February 1st during the 2024 US Open tournament and has been charged with 15 counts of child pornography. According to CNN.
Novak was initially held at the Marion County Jail in Indianapolis, where the bowling tournament is being held at Royal Pin Woodlands, but was transferred to the Ross County Jail in Ohio earlier this week, according to the Associated Press. It is said that
Ross County Jail Records February 22nd is listed as Novak’s reservation date.and he is charged with five counts of pandering with sexually oriented content involving minors and 10 counts of unlawful use of a minor with nudity-oriented content.
Novak remains in custody, Fort Wayne NBC affiliate WCMH-TV reported. report A pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 21st.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. Marshals arrested Novak during the convention earlier this month after a warrant was issued in Ross County for a “secret indictment.”
At the time, Los Angeles County Assistant Prosecutor Cindy Shoemaker said no additional information about the case would be released until Novak’s extradition was completed, the Associated Press reported.
Video from the U.S. Open shows Novak throwing the first pitch in the eighth frame of the second match, and he is said to have been arrested after he disappeared from the camera’s view. According to the YouTube video description.
One tournament participant turned to face what CNN described as “some sort of commotion” in the lane next to where Novak was allegedly bowling.
Novak has been under investigation since February 2023, when police in Chillicothe, Ohio, received a tip that his Facebook account was associated with child pornography, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
A search warrant was issued, and according to CNN, Novak admitted to purchasing the pornographic material via Snapchat, but initially denied to police that he knew it contained child pornography. That’s what it means.
But his answer has since changed, and Dispatch reported that Novak was “taking steps to cover up” the child pornography, according to CNN.
Novak’s profile has been removed from the Pro Bowlers Association website.
The Associated Press reported that the 35-year-old has won two tournaments and has been competing in those events for more than a decade.
