Milwaukee woman sentenced to 11 years in prison for killing suspected sex trafficker • Hollywood Unlocked

Chrystul Kizer was sentenced to 11 years in prison for killing the man who allegedly sexually trafficked her as a teenager.

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Kizer, 24, was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the 2018 death of 34-year-old Randall Volar. She was 17 at the time of the murder and argued that she acted in self-defense and should therefore be protected from prosecution. According to the BBC, Volar had sexually abused Kizer for more than a year before his death and recorded the acts on video. Kizer said she met Volar when she was 16 and he gave her money and gifts and sold her to other men for sex.

A Washington Post investigation found that he had abused several black girls, including Kizer, many of whom were believed to be minors. Four months before his death, Volar was arrested on sexual assault charges but released the same day. In June 2018, Kizer traveled from Milwaukee to Volar's home in Kenosha, where she shot him twice in the head, set his house on fire and took his car. Prosecutors argued the killing was premeditated and part of a plan to steal Volar's car.

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However, her lawyers insisted that she acted in self-defense after enduring years of abuse. Kizer's case attracted national attention from activists due to the challenges sex trafficking victims face in the legal system. In 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Kizer could use an affirmative defense in her case, allowing her to present evidence of her abuse at the time of the crime.

Despite the verdict, Kizer ultimately decided to accept a plea deal to avoid a possible life sentence in court.