A former California mayor who groomed a 17-year-old foreign exchange student for months before sexually abusing her is going to prison.<\/p>\n
Robert Brian Bassett, 58, was sentenced Wednesday to four years and four months behind bars after pleading no contest to three felony child-sex-abuse charges.<\/p>\n
And prosecutors made one thing painfully clear, this was a betrayal of trust<\/a>.<\/p>\n Robert Brian Bassett, 58, was sentenced Wednesday to four years and four months behind bars. Butte County District Attorney\u0092s Office<\/p>\n The teenager was living in Bassett\u2019s Biggs home from April through November 2023 as a foreign exchange student, thousands of miles from her family. California Courts<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The teenager was living in Bassett\u2019s Biggs home from April through November 2023 as a foreign exchange student, thousands of miles from her family. Bassett was supposed to be her host.<\/p>\n Prosecutors say he groomed her for months and sexually abused her multiple times while she was 17.<\/p>\n Bassett was also serving as mayor of Biggs at the time, a small Northern California town of roughly 2,000 people. Prosecutors cited the girl\u2019s vulnerability, Bassett\u2019s grooming and his abuse of her trust as aggravating factors, leading the judge to impose the maximum sentence.<\/p>\n The victim told the court that she continues to suffer from what happened \u2014 and from the knowledge that someone she trusted betrayed her.<\/p>\n Robert Bassett is pictured inside the Butte County Superior Court in Oroville, Calif., on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. KRCR<\/p>\n The victim told the court that she continues to suffer from what happened \u2014 and from the knowledge that someone she trusted betrayed her. Butte County Courthouse<\/p>\n The case began to unravel after Bassett was arrested July 9, when police served a search warrant at his Biggs home. Investigators eventually contacted the victim in her home country, where she disclosed the abuse.<\/p>\n Bassett served on the Biggs City Council and acted as the town\u2019s mayor from 2022 through December 2024.<\/p>\n Bassett served on the Biggs City Council and acted as the town\u2019s mayor from 2022 through December 2024.<\/p>\n While he initially maintained his position on the council after stepping down as mayor, he ultimately resigned from the City Council in early 2025 amid a past extortion investigation.<\/p>\n Following a subsequent criminal investigation into actions during his mayoral term, Bassett reached a legal plea deal.<\/p>\n As part of this agreement, two additional felony charges were dropped.<\/p>\n He was sentenced to over four years in state prison. Once released, Bassett will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t
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