LAKEPORT — A former Lake County Sheriff”s Office (LCSO) deputy pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to unlawful intercourse with a minor just as prospective jurors were gathered to possibly sit on the trial in the case charging the 39-year-old with 16 felony counts for alleged child sex abuse.
Derik Dion Navarro had faced as many as 20 counts for alleged misconduct with two children since the case originated in April 2007 and had denied any guilt until Wednesday.
“He got an offer he couldn”t refuse,” Mitchell Hauptman, Navarro”s attorney, said, referencing the deal that offered the former deputy a maximum of a few months in jail, formal probation and no registering as a sex offender if he pleaded guilty to one count.
Navarro faces up to four months in county jail as part of the deal, according to court records. The California Attorney General”s Office, which prosecuted the case, said Wednesday the agreement called for three months in jail.
Judge Andrew S. Blum accepted Navarro”s plea at the Lake County Courthouse Wednesday morning, according to court records.
Navarro pleaded guilty to one felony count of unlawful sex with a person younger than 16, reportedly a babysitter, for an act said to have occurred sometime between October 2005 and May 2006, according to court records.
The remaining 15 felony charges for alleged acts against the same girl were dismissed as part of the agreement, according to court records.
The LCSO terminated Navarro in April 2007 after investigating allegations of his misconduct. He had worked for the department for more than four years.
The Lake County District Attorney”s Office filed charges against Navarro that same month, and he was later held to answer for 18 felonies and two misdemeanors for alleged acts against two children.
The case met with a slew of continuances during the past four years, primarily related to changes of attorneys on both sides.
Navarro switched lawyers several times, and a conflict was declared for the DA”s Office this year with Don Anderson”s election. The current DA had previously represented Navarro for a few months during arbitration proceedings.
The Attorney General”s Office was handed the case and a trial date was eventually set for Wednesday.
However, on the eve of trial, the new prosecutor dismissed four of the 20 counts against Navarro.
Two felonies and two misdemeanors, all for alleged acts against the second child, were dropped on Tuesday because there was not sufficient evidence to move forward with those charges, the Attorney General”s Office said.
Still, a plea deal remained on the table as prospective jurors traveled to the courthouse for Wednesday”s trial start date.
Around 100 residents were sent home and excused from service after the agreement was reached, according to the Jury Commissioner”s Office.
Hauptman said he believed the possibility of having to face jurors while charged with 16 child sex crimes played a role in Navarro”s decision to take the deal.
“He had a defensible case. He very well may have been found not guilty,” Hauptman said.
The former deputy, and father of four, has remained active in the community since being charged, according to Hauptman.
The court forwarded the case to the Lake County Probation Department for a report and recommendation. Navarro”s sentencing is set for Jan. 9 at 8:15 a.m. in Department 3.
Contact Jeremy Walsh at jwalsh@record-bee.com or call him at 263-5636, ext. 37.
