District Attorney Hoovler: Guilty Verdict in Sexual

Assault Against a Child Case

Defendant Convicted of all Counts Presented to the Jury AgainstHim 

Faces up to 36 years to Life in Prison

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, Cecilio Navarro a/k/a Cecilio Navarro Rodriquez, 35, of Middletown, was convicted by a juryin the Orange County Court of Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child, Rape in the Second Degree, and Rape in the Third Degree.  Navarro faces a maximum sentence of twenty-five years to life (25 – Life) in state prison on the most serious charge.  Navarro was remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail following the jury’s verdict.

At the trial, prosecutors argued that evidence proved that between December 1, 2016, and October 27, 2018, Navarro engaged in two or more acts of sexual conduct with a child less than thirteen years old. Prosecutors also argued that evidence in the case showed that in 2019 Navarro had sexual intercourse with a child less than fifteen years old, and in 2021 engaged in sexual intercourse with a child of less than seventeen years old.Navarro was arrested by the Orange County Child Investigation Unit and has been incarcerated since June 14, 2022. The trial commenced on March 7, 2023.

Navarro faces a sentence of twenty-five years to life (25 – Life)on the charge of Predatory Sexual Assault Against a Child, seven (7) years in prison on the charge of Rape in the Second Degree, and four (4) years in prison for the charge of Rape in the Third Degree, when he is sentenced on May 23, 2023. The District Attorney’s Office will recommend that Navarro be sentenced to the legal maximum on all of those charges and that the sentences be ordered to run consecutively for a total sentence of thirty-six years to life (36 to Life) in state prison.

District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Orange County Child Abuse Investigation Unit and its member organizations including the New York State Police and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation which led to the arrest of the defendant.  

“This jury’s verdict confirms that the evidence proved that this defendant has, since 2016, been a sexual predator preying on the most helpless type of victim, a child,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “We will be seeking the maximum sentenceavailable under the law.  Children are the most innocent and vulnerable of victims and we must do everything in our power to protect them from sexual predators. This result would not have been possible without the work of the Orange County Child Abuse Investigation Unit, victim advocates from Fearless! and the bravery of the victim, who was forced to confront this defendant in a very public forum after he refused to take responsibility for his actions.”

District Attorney Hoovler highly commended Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mangold and Assistant District Attorney Amanda Arroyo who prosecuted the case.

This criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to afair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.