A former California mayor has been sentenced to prison after prosecutors said he spent months grooming a 17-year-old foreign exchange student before sexually abusing her.
Robert Brian Bassett, 58, received a sentence Wednesday of four years and four months in state prison after entering no-contest pleas to three felony child sexual abuse charges.
Authorities described the case as a devastating abuse of power and a profound betrayal of trust.
The teen had been staying at Bassett’s home in Biggs from April to November 2023 while participating in a foreign exchange program, living thousands of miles away from her family. Bassett was meant to provide her with a safe host home.
Instead, prosecutors said, he manipulated and groomed the girl over several months and sexually abused her more than once while she was still 17.
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’s vulnerability, Bassett’s grooming and his abuse of her trust as aggravating factors, leading the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
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The victim told the court that she continues to suffer from what happened — and from the knowledge that someone she trusted betrayed her.
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.
Bassett served on the Biggs City Council and acted as the town’s mayor from 2022 through December 2024.
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.
Following a subsequent criminal investigation into actions during his mayoral term, Bassett reached a legal plea deal.
As part of this agreement, two additional felony charges were dropped.
He was sentenced to over four years in state prison, and after prison, Bassett will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.