Ventura County officials confirmed this week a Newhall man facing multiple cases involving allegations he targeted children for sex crimes was released on bail.
Christian Navarro, 25, who was twice convicted in Santa Clarita prior to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office bringing a pair of allegations, was released Tuesday after making $500,000 bail, per a minute order shared by the office’s spokesman.
The Ventura County DA charged Navarro on May 14 with five counts, including unlawful sex with a minor under the age of 16 and lewd acts with a child.
He was released in lieu of $60,000 bail for those charges.
While on bail, Navarro was again arrested and charged, this time for two counts involving children, lewd acts with a minor and sex with a minor under 16.
During a bail review pretrial release screening on June 24, Judge Derek Malan set Navarro’s bail at $500,000.
Navarro was released Tuesday after a bond hearing, according to Ventura County court records, which indicated Navarro was due back in court Aug. 2.
Navarro previously took a plea deal to felony charges from the state’s Health and Safety Code 11361(b), furnishing minors with marijuana.
He received a suspended sentence of the mid-term sentence for the crime, four years, as well as credit for 357 days in custody after he spent nearly six months in county jail, according to court records. He also was sentenced to two years of formal probation.
As the result of his plea, multiple willful cruelty to a child charges were dropped, according to a minute order of Navarro’s sentencing hearing.
Navarro also was convicted in a 2021 case, pleading no contest to a possession with intent to distribute charge on May 11, 2021.
He was sentenced to four days in jail and summary probation.
