Former Biggs mayor receives over four years for abusing exchange student

Robert Brian Bassett, the ex-mayor of the Northern California town of Biggs, was sentenced on Wednesday to four years and four months behind bars after entering a no-contest plea to three felony child-sex-abuse charges. The offenses involved a 17-year-old foreign exchange student who stayed in his home from April through November 2023, during which time Bassett allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted her multiple times.

Prosecutors highlighted the victim’s vulnerability and the betrayal of his position as aggravating circumstances, prompting the judge to impose the statutory maximum. Following his mayoral term, which ended in December 2024, Bassett remained on the city council before resigning in early 2025 amid a separate extortion investigation. The plea deal dropped two additional felony counts, and after serving his sentence he will be required to register as a sex offender for a decade.