A woman from Milwaukee has received an 11-year prison sentence for killing a man accused of sex trafficking her, leading to backlash from victim advocacy groups and comparisons to other similar incidents.

Chrystul Kizer, aged 24, pleaded guilty in May to reckless homicide for the death of 34-year-old Randall Volar in June 2018 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. At the time, Kizer was just 17.

During the sentencing, Judge David Wilk of Kenosha County acknowledged the complexities surrounding Kizer’s relationship with Volar, stating, “the court is well aware of your circumstances regarding Mr. Volar.”

“You cannot be the means through which he is punished,” the judge added, warning that allowing otherwise would lead to chaos.

Prior to her sentencing, Kizer quoted passages from the Book of Genesis and Psalms, pleading for leniency.

“I’m at a loss for words, but I beg for your compassion regarding my sentence today,” she expressed. “I understand that my actions have caused a lot of suffering for the Volar family.”

Here’s a summary of the case.

What were the charges against Chrystul Kizer?

Kizer’s lawyer, Jennifer Bias, noted that Volar had reached out to Kizer when she was 16 years old after she had posted an ad on a prostitution forum. Kizer felt the need to seek help from the site as she was trying to provide for her siblings. At the time of their meeting, Volar was already under investigation for sexual offenses involving minors as young as 12.

Evidence discovered by police indicated that Volar was abusing several underage girls. In February 2018, he faced arrest and charges but was released without bail. In June 2018, Kizer, then 17, shot and killed Volar, subsequently setting his house ablaze and abandoning the scene in his vehicle.

Kizer’s legal proceedings began shortly after, and in 2022, she was allowed to argue that she was immune under a sex trafficking defense. A Wisconsin law enacted in 2008 allows victims of human and child sex trafficking to use an affirmative defense for any crime committed as a direct result of their victimization, regardless of whether the trafficker was prosecuted.

While Kizer was being trafficked, Volar had recorded himself engaging in sexual acts with her multiple times, according to reports from Kenosha County officials.

Eventually, Kizer chose not to go to trial. Had she done so, she could have been sentenced to life in prison; instead, she accepted a plea deal for the lesser charge of second-degree reckless homicide.

‘It feels like history is repeating itself.’

Claudine O’Leary, a consultant for sexual trafficking survivors who worked with Kizer and attended the sentencing, expressed her disappointment regarding the judge’s verdict.

“The message they’re receiving from the justice system is  that their lives don’t matter if they defend themselves; they’re facing prison instead,” O’Leary remarked. “There’s a significant misunderstanding regarding the harm that survivors endure.”

Kizer’s situation mirrors that of Cyntoia Brown-Long, who was 16 when she fatally shot 43-year-old Johnny Michael Allen in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 6, 2004. Like Kizer, Brown-Long was being trafficked at the time and initially received a life sentence for her actions.

This sentence provoked widespread outrage, with public figures such as Kim Kardashian and Rihanna speaking out. Eventually, in January 2019, Brown-Long’s sentence was commuted to 15 years, and she was released from prison on August 7, 2019.

Reflecting on her case in a 2020 interview, Brown-Long highlighted the parallels with Kizer’s story, remarking that it felt “like history was repeating itself.”

“Once again, here is a young girl caught in unfortunate circumstances, reacting out of trauma, while the justice system fails to acknowledge that context,” Brown-Long shared.