ARIZONA NEWS

Man living with Arizona teen Alicia Navarro pleads not guilty to child sexual abuse charges

Nov 20, 2023, 4:04 PM | Updated: 4:24 pm

(Provided Photo, left, Glendale Police Photo, right)...

(Provided Photo, left, Glendale Police Photo, right)

(Provided Photo, left, Glendale Police Photo, right)

A Montana man who had been living with a teenager who disappeared from her home in Arizona four years ago pleaded not guilty Monday to child sexual abuse charges lodged against him based on images that authorities said they found on his cellphone.

Since his Oct. 23 arrest, Edmund Davis, 36, has been held on $1 million bail on two felony counts of the sexual abuse of children. His public defender, Casey Moore, said he would file a motion for a bail reduction hearing after speaking with Davis’ father and the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Dan Guzynski.

No further hearings were immediately scheduled.

Authorities have not said whether Davis is considered a suspect in the disappearance of Alicia Navarro in September 2019. Navarro left a note behind when she vanished from her home days before her 15th birthday, sparking a massive search that included the FBI.

She was almost 19 when she walked into the Havre, Montana, police station in July and said she wanted to be removed from the missing persons list.

In investigating the circumstances that led Navarro to be in Havre — nearly 1,400 miles (2,253 kilometers) from her childhood home in Glendale, Arizona — law enforcement officers in Arizona obtained warrants that they said led to the discovery of the images of child sexual abuse on Davis’ cellphone, court records said.

Some of the images involved infants and toddlers and some were computer generated, according to court records.

Davis is charged with possessing images of a child or children under the age of 12 engaged in actual or simulated sexual conduct, which carries a mandatory sentence of 25 to 100 years in prison.

He is also charged with possessing images of the sexual abuse of children under the age of 16, which carries a sentence of four to 100 years in prison.

Over the years, Navarro’s mother, Jessica Nuñez, said that her daughter, who was diagnosed with autism, may have been lured away by someone she met online.

When she disappeared in 2019, Navarro took only her laptop and cellphone.

Neighbors said Davis had been living with Navarro for at least a year.

In July, after her reappearance had been made public, an Associated Press reporter spoke with a young woman at the Havre apartment who looked and sounded like Navarro, but she didn’t give her name and said she wanted to be left alone.

The couple moved out of the apartment days after the news media reported their location, neighbors told the AP.

Trent Steele, a private investigator who assisted Nuñez in the search for Navarro through the Miami-based nonprofit Anti-Predator Project, said last month that Navarro was “in a safe place,” without disclosing the particulars.

Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Pass it along to the KTAR News team here.

Arizona News

Crews work to secure a gas leak near Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard and 92nd Street on Monday, Dec. 1...

KTAR.com

Crews work to secure significant gas leak, restricting traffic in Scottsdale

Traffic was restricted Monday morning on a major Scottsdale through street while crews worked to fix a significant gas leak, authorities said.

2 hours ago

Follow @suelenrivera...

SuElen Rivera

Tickets for ‘Hamilton’ at ASU Gammage in Tempe go on sale

Show tickets to see the Broadway sensation musical "Hamilton" in the summer in Tempe's ASU Gammage went on sale Monday.

3 hours ago

Photos of a secret compartment found in a vehicle stopped in Marana, Arizona, and some of the drugs...

KTAR.com

Arizona DPS troopers find fentanyl, cocaine, heroin hidden in secret compartment

Arizona state troopers arrested two people after finding more than 30 pounds of illegal drugs during a traffic stop last week.

4 hours ago

Traffic is backed up on Interstate 10 in Phoenix backed up after a pedestrian was struck and killed...

KTAR.com

Pedestrian struck, killed on EB Interstate 10 approaching Broadway Curve in Phoenix

A pedestrian was struck and killed on Interstate 10 in Phoenix on Monday morning, backing up rush hour traffic for miles, authorities said.

6 hours ago

Smoke is visible at the scene of a deadly crash in Mesa, Arizona, in this image from an Arizona Dep...

KTAR.com

2 dead after passenger van hits wall, bursts into flames on East Valley freeway ramp

Two people were killed in a fiery crash on an East Valley freeway exit ramp on Sunday night, authorities said.

6 hours ago

Jesus Castillo-Ordonez mugshot...

KTAR.com

Man accused in west Phoenix murder, also linked to November armed robbery

A man was arrested in connection to a murder and armed robbery in west Phoenix, authorities said.

7 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

...

Desert Institute for Spine Care

Desert Institute for Spine Care (DISC) wants to help Valley residents address back, neck issues through awake spine surgery

As the weather begins to change, those with back issues can no longer rely on the dry heat to aid their backs. That's where DISC comes in.

...

Midwestern University

Midwestern University: innovating Arizona health care education

Midwestern University’s Glendale Campus near Loop 101 and 59th Avenue is an established leader in health care education and one of Arizona’s largest and most valuable health care resources.

Man living with Arizona teen Alicia Navarro pleads not guilty to child sexual abuse charges