Longtime wrestling coach and past coordinator for the state high school wrestling tournament Keith T. Matsu­moto is facing a maximum five-year prison term after a state jury found him guilty Tuesday of groping a 14-year-old girl in the Farrington High School gym during a wrestling tournament in 2012.

Following the reading of the verdict, Circuit Judge Randal K.O. Lee found Matsu­moto, 56, guilty of third-degree sexual assault.

Lee is allowing Matsu­moto to remain free on $11,000 bail pending sentencing in May but is prohibiting him from associating with or participating in any high school sporting events. He told Matsu­moto he may attend his daughter’s high school sporting events as a spectator as long as he is accompanied by an adult not associated with the event.

Matsumoto and his daughter’s high school wrestling coach testified that Matsu­moto has been "helping out" with the team.

Prosecutor Rochelle Cusu­mano was pleased with the verdict.

"I’m especially comforted knowing that this defendant, Mr. Matsu­moto, will no longer be allowed to have access to children at wrestling events in the state of Hawaii anymore," she said.

Hawaii Administrative Rules allow the state Department of Education to terminate or refuse to hire employees or volunteers who have criminal convictions of offenses involving children. The Hawaii High School Athletic Association follows the same rules, said Chris Chun, HHSAA executive director.

Whatever sentence Lee hands down, it will include a lifetime of registering as a sex offender.

Defense lawyer David Haya­kawa said Matsu­moto will appeal his conviction.

The girl testified that Matsu­moto groped her on June 9, 2012, at the Greco Roman and Freestyle Hawaii State Championships presented by Hawaii USA Wrestling. Another coach, who was a tournament official, testified he saw Matsu­moto grope the girl.

Matsumoto testified that he did not do what the girl and the official said he did at the time and location they specified. But he said he did pat the girl on the rear and tell her "Good job" when he passed her as she was leaning over the scoring table.

He demonstrated for the jurors what he did by patting one of his lawyers on the outside of the right buttock and said the girl may have turned when he did that, exposing more of her buttock to his pat.

Matsumoto was not officially coaching any of the wrestlers in the state competition, but would have been one of the coaches for the state team at the 2012 national tournament.