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PROVO — Nine felony charges were filed Tuesday against a Provo photographer accused of inappropriately touching teen boys while having them pose in their underwear.
Kyle Celis Navarrete, 32, is charged in 4th District Court with forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony; four counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony; and four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a 16- or 17-year-old, a third-degree felony.
Starting in the fall, Navarrete arranged photo shoots with at least four boys, ages 16 and 17, and told them they needed to "take underwear photos to get a modeling career," according to a police affidavit.
"Defendant enticed each boy to participate with promises of and lies about obtaining modeling work through modeling agencies with the photographs defendant was taking of the boys," charging documents state.
Provo police talked with officials at other local modeling agencies who told them that unless a juvenile is doing a photo shoot to advertise a specific underwear or swimsuit brand, they would never take those types of pictures for a teenager's portfolio.
Navarrete took "indecent liberties with each of the boys without consent" during the photo shoots, according to the charges.
Police said Navarrete would touch the boys' genitalia under the guise of "adjusting" them to look better for the photos, according to the affidavit. On at least one occasion, Navarrete had one of the boys touch him, the charges state.
One 17-year-old boy told police he posed in the nude and in his underwear for Navarrete and later engaged in sexual activity at Navarrete's residence, the affidavit states.
Navarrete runs his own photography company called Island Boys Photography. Navarrete has a mobile studio, worked alone, and took out ads online looking for aspiring models and clients.
