A former court clerk and Little League coach was given a suspended sentence of 12 to 30 months in Carson City District Court Tuesday morning.
Armando Navarro, 26, was given a suspended sentence of 12 to 30 months in Nevada Department of Corrections in District Court after earlier entering a guilty plea on charges of statutory sexual seduction with a minor.
Deputies discovered Armando Navarro, 26, in a car with a 15-year-old male in May, after responding to a report of shots fired in the area of Cottonwood Drive and Cedar Street. Deputies said Navarro was in the car shirtless and the boy was naked when they were found. Both allegedly admitted to preparing to have intercourse in the car when they were found.
Carson City District Attorney, Jason Woodbury, told the court Tuesday Navarro should be sent to prison to send a message to the community that this behavior would not be tolerated. Navarro and the victim found each other via social media and Woodbury argued that Navarro should have taken extra care the ensure that the child was of legal age before engaging in a sexual relationship.
“Though Navarro initiated contact, it was without force and with consent from the victim, but there is something more sinister at play here,” Woodbury said. “We have a 26-year-old man to a 15-year-old child and we as a society have made the rule that a child has no capability to make that judgment (about sex with and adult). They are immature and their brain isn’t developed to make that decision.”
The doctor that gave Navarro his psychosexual evaluation stated that Navarro is not a sexual predator and has a low risk to reoffend, but Woodbury said that statement wasn’t entirely correct.
“A 26-year-old man soliciting sex with a 15-year-old is in itself a predatory act,” Woodbury said.
The defense argued that Navarro’s actions were not predatory and that he and the victim were in a relationship where they cared for each other.
“To indicate the Navarro solicited or took advantage is misleading,” said defense attorney Karin Kreizenbeck. “The victim even said that he didn’t want Mr. Navarro to get in trouble for this.”
Kreizenbeck cited that Navarro is a good man, saying that he was a community figure before this occurred. Navarro is a military veteran, and at the time of the offense was a Carson City court clerk and Little League coach. He told the court that he even had to move with family to California because he was ostracized in Carson City.
“I used to be a hometown hero and now I am a felon, a sex offender, which is nobody’s fault but my own,” Navarro told the court.
Judge James Wilson said he had many factors to consider when giving the sentencing, indicating that the fact the victim and Navarro had a relationship was irrelevant. He said it came down the age was the problem, however the psychosexual evaluation, which indicated no evidence of paraphernalia, low risk of reoffending, and no other victims stepping forward, was heavily considered.
In the end, the judge agreed to sentence Navarro to a suspended sentence of 12 to 30 months with a five year probation and Navarro must register as a sex offender.