A former small-town mayor in Northern California is now heading to prison after authorities say he used his position of trust to groom and sexually đť“Şđť“«đť“ľđť“Ľđť“® a foreign exchange student living under his roof.
Robert Brian Bassett, 58, was sentenced Wednesday to four years and four months in state prison after pleading no contest to three felony child-𝒔𝒆𝒙-𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 charges, according to court documents.
The teenager, who was just 17 years old at the time, had come to the United States as a foreign exchange student and lived in Bassett’s Biggs home from April through November 2023. She was thousands of miles away from her own family.
Prosecutors say Bassett was supposed to be her host. Instead, they claim he groomed her for months and sexually abused her multiple times while she was a minor.
At the time, Bassett was serving as mayor of Biggs, a quiet town of about 2,000 people in Northern California.
In court, the victim spoke about the lasting impact of the betrayal, describing how someone she trusted hurt her deeply.
Prosecutors pointed to the girl’s vulnerability, Bassett’s grooming behavior and his 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 of trust as aggravating factors, which led the judge to impose the maximum sentence allowed.
The case began to unfold on July 9, 2024, when police served a search warrant at Bassett’s Biggs home. Investigators later contacted the victim in her home country, where she reportedly disclosed the 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮.
Bassett had served on the Biggs City Council and acted as the town’s mayor from 2022 through December 2024. He stepped down from that role but initially kept his council seat, before resigning in early 2025 amid a separate extortion investigation.
After a criminal investigation into actions during his time as mayor, Bassett reportedly reached a plea deal that saw two additional felony charges dropped.
As part of his sentence, Bassett must register as a 𝒔𝒆𝒙 offender for 10 years after his release from prison.
What happens now to the trust placed in small-town leaders when a case like this shakes the entire community?
