Bowler arrested mid-tournament facing child porn charges

Brandon Novak, the professional bowler who was reportedly arrested by U.S. Marshalls during the middle of a tournament, is facing child pornography charges.

Novak, 35, was extradited from Indiana to his native Ohio, and is facing 15 felony charges. Those include 10 charges of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material and five charges of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, according to the jail’s record.

He was arrested in the middle of a frame during the 2024 US Open at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis. Novak was not seen on camera, but there are clips from the broadcast showing several other bowlers looking at the arrest take place.

According to a police report received by the Columbus Dispatch, Chillicothe (Ohio) Police were tipped off to Novak in February of last year after his Facebook profile was linked to child sexual abuse. In interviews with police, according to the report, Novak said that he originally purchased pornography from someone on Snapchat but didn’t know it would contain child pornography. Novak later admitted to knowingly purchasing child pornography and was trying to hide it.

CNN reports that he does not currently have an attorney listed, and is scheduled to appear in court for a pre-trial hearing on Mar. 2.

Novak has been a professional bowler for over a decade. He finished 36th in the U.S. Open (even with withdrawing) and earned winnings of $1,500. He has won two tournaments in his career, according to CBS News.