An appeals court on Thursday upheld a former Democratic state legislator’s conviction for a child sex crime.
Otoniel “Tony” Navarrete was a state senator representing a west Phoenix legislative district when he was arrested in 2021 and charged with seven felonies for child sex crimes after allegedly molesting and forcing oral sex on two boys.
He resigned shortly after he was arrested.
Navarrete was tried twice. The first trial in October 2023 ended in a mistrial after jurors couldn’t decide on a verdict.
Prosecutors tried Navarrete again in 2024, and jurors delivered a split verdict, convicting him of one count of sexual conduct with a minor. He was acquitted of another identical count and a count of molestation of a child. In April 2024, he was sentenced to one year in prison.
Navarrete asked the Arizona Court of Appeals to review his case for “fundamental error.” But the three-judge panel unanimously concluded there were no errors and the conviction and sentence should stand.
“Navarette was present and represented by counsel at all critical stages of the proceeding, except when counsel waived his presence. The record reflects that the superior court afforded Navarette all his constitutional and statutory rights, and that the proceedings were conducted in accordance with the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure,” Judge David Weinzweig wrote on behalf of the appellate panel. “The court conducted appropriate pretrial hearings, and the evidence presented at trial and summarized above was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict. Navarette’s sentence is also within the range prescribed by law. We find no error on this record.”