Pro wrestler 'Chippy Sanchez' convicted of sex with 12-year-old

SANTA ANA - A 35-year-old part-time professional wrestler was convicted Monday of two felony counts for befriending a then-12-year-old girl via MySpace and taking her to an Anaheim motel for sex, but was acquitted of two other sex crime charges. Matthew Castaneda of Anaheim, also known as the World Power Wrestling competitor "Chippy Sanchez," was convicted of sodomy on a child and performing a lewd act on a child younger than 14, but jurors acquitted him of child rape and attempted forcible oral copulation. Superior Court Judge John D. Conley set a pretrial hearing for June 22, when prosecutors are expected to decide whether to retry Castaneda on the rape and forcible oral copulation charges. After starting an online relationship, Castaneda met the girl at the South Coast Plaza on Feb. 17, 2010, took her to two amusement parks, then the motel in Anaheim. After the assault, he took the girl's bus pass and left her stranded, prosecutors said. Deputy Public Defender Lisa Kopelman conceded that her client had sex with the girl, but argued it was not forced and that he should be convicted of lesser molestation charges. Castaneda befriended the girl via MySpace in November 2009. According to Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Herrera, the girl's profile said she was 19 and, in online chats, she told Castaneda she was 16. Castaneda told the girl he was 21, when he was really 33. Once at the motel, the girl told Read More>>>