A 58-year-old former California mayor received more than four years in prison after pleading no contest to sexually abusing an exchange student, prosecutors said.
Robert Brian Bassett, 58, lived on C Street in Biggs, California, where he served as mayor, records show.
A 17-year-old foreign exchange student stayed with Bassett’s family from April through November 2023, investigators said.
The defendant groomed the teenager for months while she lived under his roof thousands of miles from her family, prosecutors said.
Community allegations regarding the mayor eventually reached the Gridley Police Department, according to officials.
Detectives spent months investigating the claims before executing a search at Bassett’s C Street residence on July 9, police said. Officers placed the former mayor under arrest during that search, according to authorities.
Investigators later contacted the victim in her home country, police said.
The teenager reported several sexual encounters, and detectives gathered evidence supporting her account, according to investigators.
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Bassett originally faced five felony charges, including two counts each of oral copulation and sexual penetration involving a minor, court records show.
The defendant pleaded no contest to three felony charges on August 5, prosecutors said. The other two felony counts were dismissed under the agreement, according to court documents.
Those convictions included unlawful sexual intercourse, oral copulation and sexual penetration involving a minor, court records show.
Following his plea, the court ordered Bassett held without bail until sentencing, records show.
The probation department recommended a lower, midterm sentence for the former mayor, court documents state. But Judge Michael Deems rejected that proposal and imposed the maximum term, records show.
The judge cited the girl’s vulnerability, Bassett’s grooming pattern and his violation of trust, according to court records.
On September 2, the judge sentenced the defendant to four years and four months in prison, prosecutors said.
In a statement, the victim described the pain and betrayal she still carries from what occurred while living far from everyone she knew, prosecutors said.
Bassett must register as a sex offender for 10 years after his release from prison, court records show. A 10-year restraining order also bars the former mayor from contacting the victim, according to officials.
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