SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Former San Diego State University football player Nowlin Ewaliko was sentenced Friday to 180 days in county jail, two years probation and he is required to register as a sex offender.
The 20-year-old was arraigned in March. In August, he changed his plea to guilty and admitted to possessing child pornography.
According to investigators, they found nearly 38 videos depicting child pornography on an Apple iCloud account linked to Ewaliko while they were investigating him for the 2021 alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl.
Criminal charges were never filed by the San Diego County District Attorney's office in that case. However, a civil case against Ewaliko and other former SDSU football players, including punter Matt Araiza, is still underway.
Araiza has since filed a defamation case against the accuser.
During Friday's hearing, Deputy District Attorney Ramona McCarthy told the judge there were child pornography images found on devices besides Ewaliko's phone.
"[Defense] counsel has been portraying the defendant as a victim," she said. "That is absolutely not what this is. He is not a victim in this case. His conduct perpetuates this horrendous underground industry that targets child victims."
However, Ewaliko's defense attorney Marc Carlos said his client is a 20-year-old kid who made a horrible mistake.
"What he doesn't have is a clean slate for the rest of his life," he said. "He is going to be carrying this baggage everywhere he goes. Every time he sees somebody, in their eyes looking at him, he's going to be thinking they might know something."
CBS 8 spoke to longtime defense attorney Brian Watkins for an analysis of Ewaliko's situation. He is not connected to either case.
"The criminal case won't have any impact on the civil case," said Watkins. "The criminal case is a separate matter. Possessing child pornography has nothing to do with the allegations in the civil case, so it won't even be admitted into evidence in the civil case in any way, shape, or form."
However, Carlos pointed out should Ewaliko have to testify during a hearing, he is now a convicted felon and that stigma could have an impact on the jury.
WATCH: Ex-SDSU football player pleads not guilty to child porn possession (March 2023)