Saratoga man convicted on 10 felony counts in MySpace sex case

SAN JOSE (Map, News) - A former West Valley College student is facing a possible 46 years in prison after being convicted today of having sex with a 12-year-old girl he met on MySpace.

Saratoga resident Anthony Uckele, 24, was convicted of 10 felony counts today. The same jury earlier this month convicted him of 10 additional felonies in connection with the same girl. However, jurors hung on 16 additional counts and Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Paul Bernal declared a mistrial on those counts today, according to Deputy District Attorney Jim Shore.

"There was one juror who had a difference of opinion about the number of times,'' Uckele and the girl had sexual contact, Shore said.

Prosecutors will decide by Jan. 9 whether or not to retry Uckele on the 16 counts. His sentencing for the 20 counts he was convicted of is scheduled for Feb. 29, according to Shore.

"We will be asking for prison time,'' Shore said.

According to trial testimony Uckele and the girl, now 14, had a sexual relationship between October 2005 and April 2006 after meeting on MySpace. Both lied about their ages on their MySpace profiles with the girl claiming to be older and Uckele claiming to be younger. The girl is not being identified because of her age.

— Bay City News