PHOENIX — Trial proceedings began Monday for the former Arizona lawmaker who is accused of committing sexual conduct with minors.
Otoniel “Tony” Navarrete, who had represented the west Phoenix area until shortly after his arrest in 2021, appeared before a jury in court to face allegations that he had abused boys over the course of multiple years.
During Monday’s court proceeding, prosecutors used Navarrete's own words against him. They played an August 2021 recorded “confrontation call” between Navarrete and one of the alleged victims.
During the conversation, secretly recorded by police, Navarrete told the boy he was drunk when he allegedly touched the boy’s private area.
“It was not OK,” Navarrete said. “I regret my bad actions.”
When pressed by the alleged victim, Navarrete alluded to being abused as a child and called himself a “sex addict.”
"Clearly I'm not happy with any of my actions ... But these are actions I have to live with the rest of my life,” he said in the recording.
The prosecution also called two women to testify. They lived at Navarrete’s home during the time of the alleged abuse. One woman testified her younger brother woke her up one night to tell her Navarrete got into his bed and touched him.
“I was shocked and I hugged him (my brother),” she said.
12News is not identifying the woman in order to avoid identifying the alleged victims.
The woman said she asked Navarrete why he was in the boy’s bedroom and he told her he had locked himself out of his own room. The woman testified she did not believe Navarrete because he had a key to his room.
The case is a “delayed disclosure” allegation because more than a year passed by the time police were notified of all allegations against Navarrete in 2021.
“The allegations that the state has said ‘we will prove beyond a reasonable doubt’ will not be supported by physical evidence or scientific evidence,” said defense attorney Adam Feldman.
During cross examination of the first witness, Feldman appeared to demonstrate how some details of the woman’s recollection of events were unclear.
Based on the age of the alleged victims, the alleged abuse would have occurred between four and seven years ago.
The trial resumes on Tuesday. Prosecutors told the jury the alleged victims will testify.
The defendant has been charged with multiple felonies and is facing a lengthy prison sentence if the jury finds him guilty.
Navarrete was elected to the Arizona Legislature as member of the Democratic Party in 2016. Following his arrest, members of both parties pressured Navarrete to resign from representing District 30.
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