Everson man accused of raping, providing narcotics to Bellingham teenager
An Everson man has been accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl he met at a bus stop and providing her with narcotics on several occasions in exchange for naked photographs and a computer.
Whatcom County prosecuting attorneys charged 47-year-old Arturo Vargas Navarro on May 5 in Whatcom County Superior Court with one count of second-degree rape and four counts of delivery of a controlled substance (fentanyl, methamphetamine) to a person under age 18.
Navarro’s rape charge alleges the teenager was incapable of consent because she was physically helpless or mentally incapacitated. The charge also carries an aggravating factor that states Navarro knew or should have known that the victim was particularly vulnerable or incapable of consent, according to court records.
Investigation begins
During the course of an investigation by Lynden police into a domestic disturbance April 5, officers learned that a 16-year-old girl was possibly sexually assaulted somewhere in Whatcom County and referred the investigation to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office’s detective division, the court records state.
In late April, the girl and her mother met with a sheriff’s detective for an interview. The girl told the detective she met Navarro for the first time while she was at the Cordata bus station in Bellingham on the afternoon of March 28. The girl said Navarro, whom she did not know, approached her and started a conversation, court records state.
Navarro allegedly asked the girl if she wanted to ‘blaze,’ which the teenager assumed meant smoking marijuana. The girl agreed and the pair went behind Best Buy in Bellingham.
The girl told detectives that while sitting on a concrete slab, Navarro kept touching her thigh and repeatedly asking her to have sex with him. The girl told Navarro “no” each time, court records state.
The teenager told detectives she took three hits from a pipe Navarro had, but quickly realized it wasn’t marijuana. Navarro informed her it was methamphetamine, which she said she had never done before, the records state.
Navarro and the 16-year-old then walked to a liquor store on Guide Meridian where Navarro bought himself a beer and one for her, which she drank.
Navarro and the teenager then walked to the Trampoline Zone and went inside. The 16-year-old told detectives she took a puff from a cannabis pen she had while inside and that Navarro continued to touch her and ask to have sex. The teenager told detectives she continued to say no and told Navarro she was 18 years old, according to court records.
Navarro offered to give the girl a ride home because she had missed the bus. The girl told detectives Navarro said a friend of his could give her a tattoo, which is why she went with him, court documents state.
When the girl arrived at Navarro’s home, there were two men and three women present, all of whom she had never met before. The teenager and one of the unknown men smoked a fentanyl-laced pill, commonly known as “blues.” The girl told detectives she smoked roughly 1.5 pills while inside Navarro’s house. She said she had previously smoked a fentanyl-laced pill, but not as much as she did that day, the court records state.
The teenager told detectives the next thing she remembered was laying on her back inside a different trailer on the property. The girl said the small trailer was full of garbage and she didn’t know how she got there, according to court records.
The girl said Navarro raped her and told detectives she tried to get up, but couldn’t move her body. She said she was unsure whether she couldn’t move because of Navarro’s force or the amount of drugs she consumed, the court documents state.
The teenager said she never agreed to have sex with Navarro at any point while they were together.
girl then asked Navarro if she could go back home, but Navarro “began acting ‘crazy’” and showed her pictures of his guns and told her needed to go see his kids.
A friend of Navarro’s then drove Navarro and the girl to a nearby casino. The girl told detectives that Navarro’s friend was smoking methamphetamine while on the way, the police records show.
The teenager sent her mother a text message showing a screenshot of her location on Grandview Road shortly after 9:30 p.m. and was eventually driven home.
Drug exchanges
The girl told detectives that after the incident, Navarro would text her about buying drugs from him. The girl said Navarro would pick her up at a farm by Lynden and they would go to Navarro’s house.
The girl said she sent nude photographs of herself to Navarro in exchange for fentanyl pills, court documents state.
The teenager said Navarro gave her methamphetamine, a necklace, a bracelet and one fentanyl pill on one occasion, and two fentanyl pills on a separate occasion. The girl said she gave Navarro a computer in exchange for drugs, the records show.
During a search of the girl’s cellphone, detectives found multiple messages between the girl and Navarro where they discussed Navarro selling the teenager drugs. In one conversation, Navarro agreed to give the girl 15 fentanyl pills in exchange for nude photographs from her, the court records state.
Navarro and the girl communicated for roughly a week, documents show.
Navarro was arrested at his home in the 1800 block of East Pole Road on May 4.
Navarro is currently incarcerated in the downtown Whatcom County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail, which was set at his first court appearance on May 8.
A sexual assault protection order was also put in place between Navarro and the teenager.
His arraignment is scheduled for May 19, records show.
Resources
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, you can contact the following local resources for free, confidential support:
Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.
Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.
Tl’ils Ta’á’altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/
Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.
WWU Survivor Advocacy Services at the Counseling & Wellness Center: 360-650-7982 or https://cwc.wwu.edu/survivorservices.
Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org.
