Police: Man touched friend’s 16-year-old girlfriend inappropriately

A Las Cruces man has been arrested after he was accused of inappropriately touching a 16-year-old girl.

Investigators say Christopher Javier Navarro, 22, was at his home with the 16-year-old girl as well as her 17-year-old boyfriend.

The boyfriend allegedly told Navarro he could touch the girl. That’s when Navarro is suspected of inappropriately touching the girls face and buttocks.

The girl asked her boyfriend to take her home immediately but the boyfriend allegedly refused.

Later that evening, the girl tried to escape from the backseat of Navarro’s vehicle but Navarro allegedly closed the door, striking the victim in the head.

The girl was able to seek help when the vehicle stopped at a local tattoo shop.

Navarro was arrested early Thursday morning and booked into the the Dona Ana County Detention Center. He is being held without bond.

Navarro is charged with one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor, a fourth-degree felony.

The girl’s 17-year-old boyfriend is charged with one count of false imprisonment and additional charges are pending.