Tony Navarrete Resigns As Arizona Senator Over Accusations Of Child Sex Abuse

Arizona state senator Tony Navarrete stepped down just days after he was arrested for alleged child sex abuse.

On Aug. 10, Republican Senate President Karen Fann reportedly said that the disgraced senator sent her an email saying that he was quitting. State Senate Democratic Leader Rebecca Rios and Fann later released a statement regarding Navarrete's resignation, according to Fox 10. The statement said that his decision to resign was the right thing. It further read, "We know that the Arizona Judicial Branch will deliver justice and pray for healing and support for all victims."

After his resignation, state Senate Ethics Chair Sine Kerr said that an ethics complaint against him had been "dismissed as moot," Fox News reported.

The 35-year-old has been accused of sexually abusing a minor boy with whom he was living for years. The victim, now 16, told investigators that he was 12 or 13 years old when Navarrete started touching him inappropriately. The abuse allegedly continued till his 15th birthday. Due to the abuse, the boy said that he suffers from anger and anxiety.

A call between the boy and Navarrete was reportedly recorded by the detectives. During the call, he apologized to the boy for molesting him and said that he regretted it. When he was asked why he abused the boy, he reportedly said that he "wasn’t well." There was another alleged incident that involved the 35-year-old touching the upper thigh of a minor boy, who slapped his hand away.

On Aug. 8, he was released from prison after his bond was set for $50,000.

Navarrete also issued a statement on Tuesday about the "serious allegations" made against him. He denied them and said that he will make efforts to prove his innocence. Giving reasons for resigning as the Arizona State Senator, he said, "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."

His decision comes after many people called for his resignation.

The Arizona Democratic Party asked him to quit considering the gravity of the felony charges against him.