By Alexander Lomax
In what could be described as nothing less than an absolutely shocking bombshell, Arizona State Senator Tony Navarrete, a Democrat representing Arizona’s 30th district in West Phoenix and Glendale, was arrested on Friday on suspicion of sexual abuse of a minor. These charges include 7 felony counts, which would lead to a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 49 years if found guilty on all counts.
The charges stem from encounters he had with his nephews who were 12 or 13 and 16 years old at the time of the abuse. One of the abused recorded a phone call in which Sen. Navarrete seems to confess to the crimes; this phone call is outlined in the court documents found here. Warning: this information is both detailed and highly disturbing, caution is advised.
As of Monday morning, Sen. Navarrete has been released on $50,000 bond, with the provision that he stay away from children.
The calls for him to resign have been united across the aisles, with all elected Democrats in both chambers, many prominent Republicans, and the more prominent statewide elected officials joining the chorus. We join that chorus; while Sen. Navarrete is afforded his due process in court, the evidence released so far is enough to make it clear that he cannot perform his duties any longer and should resign.
Our thoughts first go to the victims. These actions will leave an indelible and unequivocally negative imprint on their lives going forward. The sickness of child predation destroys families, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Navarrete clan. Their lives will never be the same.
We also caution against attempting to make any political statements regarding these heinous actions. This shouldn’t be necessary to say, but in today’s world of disinformation and lies about child sex rings run by politicians, our new political climate unfortunately demands it. This was clearly an action undertaken by one single, sick individual. Any implication otherwise would be a symptom of sickness in its own right.
The road to healing will be long and arduous, but it should start with Sen. Navarrete resigning as soon as possible.