PHOENIX — Former Arizona state Sen. Otoniel “Tony” Navarrete was indicted by a grand jury last week on multiple charges relating to sexual conduct involving children.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday that Navarrete, 35, of Phoenix, was indicted on seven counts on Aug. 13, The Arizona Republic reported.
According to the grand jury, Navarrete was indicted on one count of molestation of a child, a class 2 felony; three counts of sexual conduct with a minor, a class 2 felony; two counts of sexual conduct with a minor, a class 6 felony; and one count of attempting to commit molestation of a child, a class 2 felony.
Former Arizona State Sen. Otoniel 'Tony' Navarrete indicted on 7 felony charges connected to sexual conduct with children. The Phoenix Democrat resigned last week, proclaiming his innocence. https://t.co/h36aMmDaiv
— Brahm Resnik (@brahmresnik) August 19, 2021
Navarrete is a Democrat who has represented District 30 as a senator since 2019. He resigned in a brief email sent to Senate President Karen Fann on Aug. 10, according to The Republic. He issued a separate statement to reporters, vowing to prove his innocence.
“I adamantly deny all allegations that have been made and will pursue all avenues in an effort to prove my innocence,” he wrote.
>> Arizona state Sen. Tony Navarrete accused of sexual conduct with a minor
According to KPHO and KPNX, Phoenix police arrested Navarrete on Aug. 5 after receiving a report about an incident that occurred in 2019. He was released from custody two days later.
The arrest came a day after authorities received a complaint about allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor, according to The Republic. According to a probable cause complaint, police interviewed the victims and had one of them call Navarrete, the newspaper reported.
In the recorded call, which was monitored by police, Navarrete acknowledged touching the victim’s genitals and then performing oral sex on the youth multiple times over several years, according to documents released by Maricopa County Superior Court.
Navarrete told the youth he regretted his actions and knew they were wrong, according to The Republic.
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“Of course, I regret any bad actions that I did, absolutely wishing everything could be different. I’m sorry, mijo,” Navarrete was quoted as saying in the call.
The teen was 14 at the time of Navarrete’s alleged actions, which began when he was around 12 and 13 and continued until he was 15, KSAZ reported.
The victim was living with Navarrete when the alleged crimes occurred, KPNX reported.
Navarrete also allegedly touched the upper leg of the victim’s younger brother, according to court documents. The younger teen swatted Navarrete’s hand away, documents show.
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