PHOENIX — Former state Sen. Otoniel "Tony" Navarrete has been found guilty of sexually abusing a minor and acquitted on similar charges in Maricopa County.
After the jury in his first criminal trial failed to reach a unanimous decision last year, the former politician was officially convicted this week of abusing a minor following the conclusion of his second trial.
Navarrete, a Democrat who used to represent the west Phoenix area, was arrested in 2021 after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced.
The jury delivered on Thursday a split verdict on three separate charges: guilty for one count of sexual conduct with a minor, not guilty of child molestation and not guilty of sexual conduct with a minor.
Court documents filed at the time of Navarrete's arrest revealed that a teenage boy accused Navarrete of touching him and performing sexual acts on him when he was 12 or 13 years old.
Navarrete was elected to the Arizona House in 2016 and resigned from the Legislature after his arrest.
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