A Newhall man who received a suspended sentence for furnishing a minor with marijuana in L.A. County in December was arrested Friday in Ventura County on six allegations, including luring and sex crimes against a child, according to court records.
Christian Navarro, 25, pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon in Room 13 of Ventura County Superior Court at a first appearance answering to a half-dozen felony charges, according to Joey Buttitta, spokesman for the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
The charges included two counts of luring, contact with a minor with intent to commit a sexual offense and lewd act upon a child, according to the complaint shared by the office.
Navarro’s case has been continued to June 7, Buttitta added.
A woman claiming to be the mother of Navarro’s alleged victim contacted The Signal in May prior to his arrest in response to reading previous reports online regarding Navarro’s convictions involving crimes against children.
Local officials confirmed Navarro was the subject of at least two previous investigations by the former Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station’s Juvenile Intervention Team, or J-Team, which investigated the local nexus between children and young adults, substance abuse and crime.
Navarro was convicted on a possession charge after local station officials arrested him on suspicion of selling marijuana to minors in February 2021.
He was sentenced to four days in jail and summary probation as the result of a plea deal in that case, according to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.
In June 2023, J-Team detectives said they linked an Instagram moniker belonging to Navarro to the sale of marijuana products to local junior high students.
After serving a search warrant for Navarro’s residence and vehicle, deputies posted pictures of the products they found on the station’s social media website.
After this second arrest, Navarro ultimately was charged with eight felony counts, including three counts of child abuse and five felony counts of furnishing marijuana to a minor.
The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office also filed a pair of Rules of Court violations regarding aggravated circumstances, to wit, Rule 4.421(a)(3) the victims were particularly vulnerable, and Rule 4.421 (b)(5) The defendant’s prior performance on probation, mandatory supervision, post-release community supervision, or parole was unsatisfactory.
For his second conviction, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Daniel Feldstern gave Navarro a four-year suspended sentence.
The court record stated he served six months and was given credit for another nearly six months for good behavior/work time, according to a minute order of the proceedings of his sentencing shared by the DA’s Office in response to a request for comment.
Navarro was on formal probation from that case at the time of his arrest Friday, according to court records.
Navarro is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail, according to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department custody records available online.
