Chrystul Kizer Sentenced To 11 Years In Prison For The Death Of Her Abuser

KENOSHA, WISCONSIN - NOVEMBER 13: Chrystul Kizer is pictured during a hearing in the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 15, 2019. On the right is her lawyer, public defender Carl Johnson. She was 16 years old when she met Randal P. Volar III, 33, at a bus stop. He offered to give her a ride home, then got her number. The next time they met, according to Chrystul, he took her to dinner and shopping then made clear what he expected in return. For two years, Volar regularly engaged in sexual abuse of Chrystul, and without her knowing it, filmed their interactions. Little did she know, Volar was under investigation by local police for abusing and filming many more girls but they had not yet arrested him. One night, after resisting his advances, Chrystul shot Volar in the head. She lit his house on fire and fled in his car. After posting about the crime on Facebook Live, she was arrested and charged with his murder. Now, her case is at the center of a nationwide debate, taking place in the post Me Too era, about what it means to be a victim, which women are believed, and who should be held accountable.
(Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Chrystul Kizer, a sex trafficking survivor, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for the murder of her abuser. 

According to reports, Kizer admitted to killing her abuser, Randall Volar III, 34, when she was 17 for sex trafficking her. The now 24-year-old was given her sentence earlier this week and also received five years for supervised release. 

She reportedly met Volar when she was 16 years old and said that she was sexually abused by him numerous times. She admitted to shooting and killing him and then setting his body on fire. In 2022, Kizer was initially charged with first-degree intentional homicide, however, she argued it was self-defense. Under Wisconsin law, sex trafficking victims can claim “an affirmative defense for any offense committed as a direct result of being trafficked.” 

In May, she was able to avoid a life sentence and a trial due to pleading guilty to a lesser charge. Kizer also received credit for 570 days of time served. A judge denied her participation in any early release programs from the Department of Corrections. 

In 2020, Chrystul Kizer was released from prison on a $400,000 bond raised by people who followed her case. She would later be charged with disorderly conduct after getting into an incident at her home in Milwaukee. She was also arrested in Louisiana by the U.S. Marshals after being on the run for two weeks. She faced five felony bail-jumping charges.