Phoenix police arrested state Sen. Tony Navarrete Thursday after someone told authorities the state lawmaker had repeatedly sexually abused two teenage boys on several occasions, the Arizona Capitol Times reported.
Because of the allegations, every Democratic member of the Arizona legislature wants Navarrette, also a Democrat, to step down from his post. If convicted on all seven child sex crimes, he faces a minimum sentence of nearly 50 years in prison.
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Navarette made his first court appearance Friday for a preliminary hearing.
"The circumstances and serious nature of the felony charges faced by Senator Navarrete provide an untenable distraction from his role as an elected official and public servant for District 30," a coalition of lawmakers from the state House and Senate said in a statement.
"Abuse of this kind is intolerable and our hearts go out to the victims," they continued.
A judge set Navarette's bond at $50,000. If released, the court will require him to wear an electronic monitoring device and avoid contact with children.
"He should have no contact with minors, absolutely, whether in his family, out of his family, strangers," said county attorney Jeanine Sorrentino. "He should be prohibited from going any place where minors would typically hang out: schools, parks, malls, the toy aisle in Target."
One victim alleged multiple occasions over several years where the state senator touched the young boy "inappropriately for extended periods of time," court documents said. A second victim described pushing Navarette's hand away when he attempted to touch the boy.
Prosecutors say Navarette admitted to the abuse in a telephone conversation secretly recorded Thursday. Navarette, they say, apologized to the boy and told him, "It wasn’t his fault." Authorities arrested him shortly after that call.
Earlier this week, Navarette said he tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated in February.
In Arizona, an elected official convicted of a felony automatically loses their seat.
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