Arizona Dem Former Lawmaker Sentenced to 1 Year Prison for Child Molestation
With April 21-27 celebrated as National Crime Victims' Rights Week, an Arizona jury found former Senator Otoniel “Tony” Navarrete guilty of a Class 6 felony for sexual conduct with a minor aged 15 or older.
The Democrat politician was arrested in 2019, in his third term as an Arizona state lawmaker, for allegedly molesting a boy under the age of 15 between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2020. Navarette was arrested in 2019 and indicted in 2021.
Police had taken statements from Navarrete’s family members and law enforcement investigators recorded a phone call between one of the boys and the lawmaker where Navarette was alleged to have admitted to child molestation.
He originally faced 49-year prison term for his crimes involving multiple minors. The initial indictment included one Class 2 felony molestation of a child, three Class 2 felonies for sexual conduct with a minor, one Class 3 felony for attempted sexual conduct with a minor, and two Class 6 felonies for sexual conduct with a minor.
According to the Arizona Republic News, Navarrete turned down 60-day sentence plea deal and 10 years of supervised probation, because he would have had to admit criminal guilt.
Navarette maintained his innocence after the indictment was released and he went to trial. There was a mistrial declared in Oct. 2023 when jurors split on conviction. But in a February retrial, a jury deemed Navarrete not guilty on one count of molestation of a child and sexual conduct with a minor, but declared Navarrete guilty on a separate charge of sexual conduct with a minor.
During sentencing, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ordered one year in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for his single count of child sex crime. Navarette is now also required to register as an Arizona sex offender.
Court documents stated Navarrete sexually touched the victim multiple times over a few years. Navarrete has reportedly apologized to the victim and says he now regrets his actions in the phone call recorded by police.
But Navarette’s attorney announced they would file a notice of appeal to overturn his conviction.