Suspect in toddler’s death accused of sexually assaulting another Freeborn County inmate

By KAALTV

Austin Michael Navarro / Freeborn County Jail Roster

(ABC 6 News) – An Albert Lea man accused of murdering a two-year-old faces new charges of sexually assaulting a fellow Freeborn County inmate.

Austin Michael Navarro, 26, has been held in the Freeborn County jail since July 2023, after he was arrested in connection with the death of Ahziyas Dhampha.

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On Tuesday, March 26, Navarro appeared on a new charge of 5th-degree criminal sexual conduct–nonconsensual sexual contact after another Freeborn County detainee told staff that in early March, Navarro had made suggestive comments to him, grabbed his legs, and then groped him in “general population.”

Court documents allege that camera footage showed Navarro briefly groping the man.

Navarro is scheduled to appear on the murder charges April 30.

A pretrial hearing in the criminal sexual conduct case was scheduled July 23, followed by a trial Aug. 21.