Chrystul Kizer sentenced to 11 years in prison for killing her abuser

A Milwaukee woman has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for killing a man who prosecutors said sexually trafficked her when she was a teenager.

The verdict on Monday ended a six-year legal battle by Chrystul Kizer, now 24, who argued she should be spared prosecution.

Kizer was charged with manslaughter for shooting Randall Volar, 34, in 2018 when she was 17. She accepted a plea deal earlier this year to avoid a life sentence.

Volar filmed himself sexually abusing Kizer for more than a year before he was killed.

Kizer said she met Volar when she was 16 and that he sexually assaulted her while giving her cash and gifts. She said he also made money by selling her to other men for sex.

A Washington Post investigation found that authorities had evidence, including video, showing Volar had molested about a dozen black girls, including Kizer — all of whom appeared to be minors.

Four months before Volar died, police arrested him on sexual assault charges but released him the same day.

Police said Kizer traveled from Milwaukee to Volar’s ​​home in Kenosha in June 2018 with a gun. She shot him twice in the head, set his house on fire and stole his car.

Prosecutors said the killing was premeditated and part of a plot to steal Kizer’s car. Kizer’s attorney argued she acted in self-defense.

Kizer’s case has tested the leniency afforded to victims of sex trafficking. Some states have enacted laws — known as “affirmative defense” provisions — that protect victims from certain charges, including prostitution or theft, if those actions were the result of being trafficked.

Kizer tested whether the “affirmative defense” for human trafficking victims could be used for murder. In 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that it could.

The ruling allowed Kizer to use evidence to prove her abusive behavior at the time of the crimes. The case attracted widespread attention and Kizer received support from activists in the #MeToo movement.

She ultimately opted for a plea deal to avoid the risk of a life sentence at trial.

“I have to try to move on,” Kizer told the Washington Post in an interview from prison this year.

She has served more than a year and a half. She will be on five years of extended probation after her release.