The world was mildly shocked on Monday as a United States District Court Judge gave diminutive YouTuber Jose “Chille” DeCastro something he hadn’t had before – a legal victory in a federal trial over fellow YouTuber John “Irish Demon” O’Dea.
Unlike other cases where DeCastro sued and represented himself, DeCastro was represented by Randall “The Unhinged Attorney” Newman, Esquire, over the 2024 hacking and spamming of DeCastro’s YouTube channel with adult material along with copyright issues.
O’Dea’s actions, which he publicly admitted on at least one private Discord server, resulted in the temporary deletion of DeCastro’s channel by YouTube for obscene content. While O’Dea did not admit to his actions on his then popular livestreams, he did let friends and associates know that he was behind the hacking.
DeCastro sued in 2025 with O’Dea held in default as the Magistrate Judge handling the case allowed DeCastro to serve via e-mail as O’Dea lives in Ireland and O’Dea never responded to the court.
Demands by DeCastro for financial damages were largely revised over the spring of 2026 when DeCastro declined to provide his financial information to the court. That decision by DeCastro, along with the fact that he was unlikely to collect on any financial determinations by the court due to O’Dea’s presence in Ireland, greatly reduced DeCastro’s claims.
In the end, Judge P. Casey Pitts ratified the recommendations of the Magistrate Judge, ruling:
Taking into account the possibility of prejudice to plaintiff if no relief is granted, the merits of the claims, the sufficiency of the complaint, the moderate sum of money at stake, and the lack of apparent disputes of fact or excusable neglect, Magistrate Judge Cousins recommends that the Eitel v. McCool, 782 F.2d 1470, 1471-72 (9th Cir. 1986), factors favor default judgment as to plaintiff’s DMCA claim, but not his SCA claim. Magistrate Judge Cousins also recommends: (1) awarding plaintiff $405 for the filing fee; (2) issuing a permanent injunction against defendant, and those acting with him, from reproducing, distributing, publicly performing, or publicly displaying the October and November 2022 videos identified in the complaint; and (3) issuing a declaratory judgment that defendant had no lawful authorization to reproduce, rebroadcast, or publicly perform plaintiff’s the October and November 2022 audiovisual works identified in the complaint, and that defendant’s use of those works did not constitute fair use.
Having reviewed Magistrate Judge Cousins’s Report and Recommendation and received no objections thereto, the Court finds that the Report and Recommendation is well founded in law and consistent with this Court’s own view of the record. Accordingly, the Report and Recommendation is hereby adopted as the order of this Court and incorporated by reference in its entirety. Dkt. No. 34. Plaintiff’s motion for default judgment is granted in part as to the DMCA claim and denied as to the SCA claim. Plaintiff is awarded $405 in costs. Defendant and those acting with him are permanently enjoined from reproducing, distributing, publicly performing, or publicly displaying the October and November 2022 videos identified in the complaint. Defendant had no lawful authorization to reproduce, rebroadcast, or publicly perform those two audiovisual works, and defendant’s use of those works did not constitute fair use.
Plaintiff’s remaining claims are dismissed without prejudice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
The win, despite it’s diminutive cash award, is the first such victory on a federal level for DeCastro and comes after a stunning series of losses on the federal level by the inventor of the Jock Sock.
DeCastro has yet to make a public statement about his victory as of press time.
This is a breaking news story.
