Update on Nick Philippoussis arrest

Nick Philippoussis pleaded not guilty Friday to the 14 charges of child sexual molestation filed after he was arrested Tuesday at his San Diego home.

According to the Australian Associated Press and Reuters, the children in question are a pair of nine-year-old girls he was coaching.

Philippoussis, 68, is the father and former coach of Aussie tennis star Mark Philippoussis,

And the alleged acts, which included “oral copulation/sexual penetration with a child 10 years old or younger”, occurred with both girls concurrently. They allegedly occurred in Nick Philippoussis’s car, home and at the tennis complex where he was coaching them.

Deputy district attorney Garret Wong requested for the bail to be significantly upgraded. The judge agreed. It was nearly quadrupled, from the original $2.5 million US to $9.2 million US.

From the reports and videos, son Mark attended the arraignment.

There are some additional videos here from 9 News Australia.

Philippoussis under ‘enhanced observation’

Nick Philippoussis had no idea the arrest was coming, according the the Herald Sun, He was outside walking his dog when seven detectives from the San Diego County Sheriff’s department descended upon his home.

Philippoussis is under “enhanced observation”, also according to the Herald Sun. “Anyone facing something like this is bound to start thinking about their life,” Lieutenant Greg Rylaarsdam of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Central Investigations Unit told the newspaper.

The charges, the Herald Sun said, add up to 210 years at maximum.

Philippoussis’s attorney, Ryan Tegnelia, handles 60 per cent DUI cases and 40 per cent criminal cases, including sex and drug crimes.

“There are few charges treated more harshly other than killing a human being. The allegations don’t really come more serious than this,” Tegnelia told the Herald Sun.

Tegnelia added that raising the bail money was an impossibility, so Philippoussis will remain in prison.