Gregory Cantrell, Newport Beach Businessman, Loses Child Molestation Appeal

Cantrell

In December 2003, Orange County businessman Gregory Erik Cantrell repeatedly molested a 12-year-old female relative, but the crimes went undiscovered for four years.

Cantrell was charged and convicted of domestic violence in 2006--winning two days in jail and probation.

The following year prosecutors at the Orange County District Attorney's office learned of the molestations and filed three felony sex crime charges, according to court records.

In 2010, the Newport Beach resident pleaded guilty in exchange for a sweetheart deal and in 2011 Superior Court Judge Daniel B. McNerney sent him to prison.

But the molester--who owns a federal trademark, The Power of Dry, for a carpet cleaning product--wasn't happy with his plea bargain. He hired William J. Kopeny, one of California's best appellate lawyers, to overturn his punishment. His point? He believes he should have been given probation and not a single day of incarceration.

For Justice Raymond Ikola at the California Court of Appeal based in Santa Ana the decision on the complaint was simple: no.

Ikola, while writing the opinion for justices Kathleen O'Leary and Eileen Moore, declared that this appeal was "doomed" from the outset because Cantrell had waived his right to complain about his conviction when he signed the guilty plea and won a sentence reduction of nine years.

"Because the defendant knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently waived his appellate rights nothing remains for our review," declared Ikola.

Upshot: Cantrell, 49, will remain locked inside La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona for the remainder of his sentence.

He also must list himself as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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