CHILLICOTHE — Professional bowler Brandon Novak will spend nearly five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to child pornography.
Novak, 35, pleaded guilty in April to 15 charges filed by Chillicothe police. The charges included illegals use of a minor in nudity material and pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, according to filings from the Ross County Common Pleas Court
Novak was taken into custody Feb. 1 during the U.S. Open at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis by U.S. marshals, but authorities would only say he was wanted on a warrant that stemmed from a secret indictment.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Ross County Common Pleas Judge Matthew Schmidt sentenced Novak on Thursday to 12 months in prison on each of the first four counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor, plus 11 months in prison for the fifth count, with credit for 27 days already served. Ten-month sentences for each of the 10 counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material will be served at the same time.
Novak also will have to register as a Tier II sex offender, which means he will have to register every 90 days for the rest of his life.
Novak, who joined the PBA in 2012, has two career titles and is a former Central Region Rookie of the Year. He has earned over $90,000 in his pro career.
Novak’s arrest and subsequent conviction were not his first brush with the law.
In three separate incidents in July, September and November 2022, Novak was charged with violating a temporary protective order filed against him by his ex-girlfriend, according to court records obtained by The Columbus Dispatch.
In all three incidents, Novak tried to contact the ex-girlfriend via phone, text, email and social media. In December 2022, he was sentenced to 56 days in jail, but that sentence was later reduced to 19 days, court filings indicate.
Chillicothe police had been investigating Novak since February 2023, according to a report obtained by The Dispatch through an Ohio Public Records Act request. According to the report, a Chillicothe police detective first received a complaint Feb. 17, 2023, from Facebook.
Submitted with the complaint were multiple videos showing young males and one juvenile male having sex with an adult male, as well as a still photo of Novak. Through investigation, the detective matched the IP address from the photos and videos to a computer at Novak’s home in Chillicothe.
On Feb. 21, 2023, the detective got a search warrant for Novak’s home. The detective interviewed Novak about child pornography being associated with his Facebook account, the report states.
During the interview, the detective reported, Novak said he bought pornography from someone on the social media app Snapchat but initially said that he did not know the videos would contain child pornography.