Story thread · 3 reports / 3 sources

Ex-mayor sexually 'groomed' underage foreign exchange student in California

conservativereview.com · 11dShare

A former mayor of a small California city has received the maximum sentence after "grooming" a foreign exchange student who had been living with him. On Wednesday, Robert Bassett, 58, pled no contest to three felonies: unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, oral copulation of a person under 18, and sexual penetration of a person under 18, court records show. 'Bassett violated the trust she placed in him while she was in the United States, thousands of miles from her family.' The victim in this case has been identified as a female "underage foreign exchange student" who lived in his home in 2023, when he was mayor of Biggs, California, according to a press release from the Butte County district attorney's office. Biggs is a city of 2,000 residents about 65 miles north of Sacramento. "Bassett groomed the victim for several months before engaging in illegal acts with her," the press release said. Bassett was arrested back in July after Gridley police spent months investigating allegati

First report: Former California mayor sentenced for sex crimes involving teen exchange student he groomed for months — nypost.com, 12d