Anaheim man gets 15 years for sexual assault

An Anaheim man was sentenced Friday to 15 years to life in state prison for sexually assaulting a girl he connected with on MySpace and then met in Costa Mesa.

Matthew Castaneda, 36, was also required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Castaneda was found guilty May 14 of one felony account of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one felony count of lewd acts on a child under 14. He was also given a sentencing enhancement for a prior conviction of felony domestic violence and violating a restraining order, according to an Orange County district attorney’s office news release.

Castaneda communicated with the 12-year-old girl on MySpace in November 2009, and met with her Feb. 17, 2010, near South Coast Plaza, according to the D.A. He then took an Orange County Transportation Authority bus with the victim to Anaheim.

After walking around in two different parks, Castaneda took the girl to his motel room at Zaby’s Motor Lodge on Katella Avenue, where he sexually assaulted her about 6 p.m. before fleeing the scene.

About 6:30 p.m., the girl left the room, found an Anaheim police traffic controller and asked to be taken home.

She had been reported missing the same day to the Santa Ana Police Department, which, upon further investigation, learned she had been sexually assaulted by Castaneda.

Castaneda was arrested Feb. 19, 2010, at a warehouse on Placentia Avenue in Costa Mesa.

— Brittany Woolsey

Twitter: @TheDailyPilot