Amid increasing bipartisan pressure to step down, a Democrat lawmaker has finally resigned from his position after being charged with child molestation.
Arizona state Senator Tony Navarrete, a Democrat, has announced his resignation after being arrested for molesting a child.
Pictures from AZ State Senator Tony Navarrete’s Instagram
He was just arrested for child molestation pic.twitter.com/MnUgcviCza
— Jewish Deplorable (@TrumpJew2) August 6, 2021
Republican Senate President Karen Fann announced on August 10th that she had received a brief email from Senator Navarrete informing her of his decision to resign immediately.
Navarrete’s decision came after pressure from both sides of the aisle to step down from his Senate seat, representing a Phoenix-area district.
Phoenix police arrested Navarrete after a now-16 year old boy came forward to reveal that the state senator had molested him from when he was around 12 or 13 years old until he was 15.
A probable cause statement filed by police reveals that detectives had recorded a call between the boy and Senator Navarrete, in which the senator allegedly acknowledged the molestation and apologized to the boy.
According to reporting from Jack Posobiec, senior editor at Human Events, “In a recorded call monitored by police AZ Democrat Senator Tony Navarrete acknowledged performing oral sex on underage youth multiple times over several years.”
In a recorded call monitored by police AZ Democrat Senator Tony Navarrete acknowledged performing oral sex on underage youth multiple times over several years https://t.co/naQsAkRbgo
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) August 7, 2021
He is now facing a child molestation charge, along with multiple charges of sexual conduct with a minor. Though Navarrete did not enter a plea during his initial court appearance, he was released on $50,000 bond on August 7th.
A prosecutor noted that Navarrete will be facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 49 years in prison if he is convicted on all of the charges.
Navarrete released a statement on August 10th, which reads: “Serious allegations have been made against me. I adamantly deny all allegations that have been made and will pursue all avenues in an effort to prove my innocence. In doing so, I will be focusing the vast majority of my time and energy on my defense.”
“While I would love nothing more than to continue to serve the families of Arizona’s 30th District, I worry it will be impossible to give my constituents the full attention they deserve. Therefore, I must resign my post as Arizona State Senator today,” the state senator added.
Several Arizona state lawmakers have also released statements on the issue, including Republican Senate President Karen Fann and Democratic Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Rios, who wrote a joint statement saying: “This was the right thing to do considering the serious allegations. We know that the Arizona Judicial Branch will deliver justice and pray for healing and support for all victims.”
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will be choosing a replacement for Senator Navarrete.
According to reporting from The KD Miner, a local news outlet, “Normally, local Democratic Party officials would vet candidates, but there are now fewer than the required number of elected precinct committeemen in the district. Instead, a citizen’s committee will be chosen by the board to develop a list of three candidates for supervisors to choose from.”
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