Professional bowler arrested during tournament receives prison sentence for child pornography

A professional bowler arrested while participating in a tournament has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to child sexual abuse.

Brandon Novak, 35, of Chillicothe, Ohio, was arrested Feb. 1 by U.S. Marshals during the 2024 U.S. Open bowling tournament in Indianapolis.

At the time, authorities said only that he was wanted on a warrant stemming from a secret indictment. But investigators later revealed he had been under investigation by Chillicothe police since February 2023, after a detective received a complaint from Facebook about Novak's account being associated with copyright material. sexual abuse of children.

Authorities executed a search warrant at Novak's home and he told them he had purchased pornography from someone on the social media app Snapchat, but did not know the videos would contain child sexual abuse material. He later admitted that he knew he was buying child pornography and took steps to cover it up, authorities said.

Novak pleaded guilty in April to 15 charges, including using a minor in nudity-oriented material and disseminating sexual material involving a minor. He was sentenced Thursday.

Novak has been a professional bowler for more than a decade and has won two tournaments, according to his profile on the Professional Bowlers Association website.