A former San Diego State football player who pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony possession of child pornography could face up to three years in state prison and mandatory registration as a sex offender if convicted.
Nowlin Ewaliko returned from Hawaii last week and turned himself in. He was booked and then released on bail. The arraignment took only a few minutes at San Diego Superior Court. The 20-year-old had his attorney with him and faced a judge to hear the charges.
The San Diego District Attorney's office said detectives found the "child sex abuse material" while investigating Ewaliko's alleged involvement in the gang rape of a teen at an off-campus party in fall 2022. The DA's office decided there was not enough evidence to file criminal charges against Ewaliko, and fellow former payers Zavier Leonard and All-American punter Matt Araiza, who was drafted by the Buffalo Bills and released by the team when the allegations surfaced.
Related Stories
Get San Diego local news, weather forecasts, sports and lifestyle stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC San Diego newsletters.
The DA's office could not reveal where the alleged pornography was found, but an office spokesperson confirmed it did not involve the then-17-year-old alleged gang rape victim and that there is no specific victim associated with the charge.
As a condition for bail, Ewaliko was required to give up his 4th amendment right to voluntary search and seizure.
“A police officer or law enforcement can ask him for his phone or computer and they don’t have to get a warrant to search it," Ewaliko's attorney Marc Carlos explained. "So if he’s not committing any crimes it’s not really an issue. And that’s not going to be an issue for us, which is why there was no objection to it."
Carlos said he has not seen the evidence that prosecutors said contained the child pornography.
Deputy District Attorney Franciesca Balerio addressed the investigators’ discovery of alleged child pornography during the arraignment.
“The law covers steps that law enforcement needs to take. And we follow where the evidence takes us as well as law enforcement. They will get search warrants when needed and follow the law as it requires for them if something is stumbled upon,” said Balerio.
Balerio told reporters that once the alleged child porn was found, the San Diego Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was called to handle the investigation.
Ewaliko is back in court on May 18th.
