Willits Man Sentenced to 24 Years for Serial Child Abuse
Christopher Neil Kiger received the maximum state prison sentence allowed
A former Willits man was sentenced Thursday to 24 years in state prison for sexually abusing a child over a three-year period, the maximum term allowed by law for his crimes.
Christopher Neil Kiger, 42, also known as Chris King and Jesse Goff, was sentenced by Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Keith Faulder at a hearing in Ukiah. A jury convicted him in March of 11 felony counts following a two-week trial: three counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14, two counts of penetration with a foreign object involving a child under 14, and six counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Prosecutors said the crimes occurred in and around Willits from 2020 through 2023, when the victim was between 10 and 13 years old. District Attorney David Eyster, who prosecuted the case, said Kiger acted as a “stepfather figure” to the victim. Formerly of Willits, Ukiah and Clearlake, Kiger had been living in Florida while hiding from investigators, according to the DA’s office.
Because continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 is classified as a violent felony, any good-time or work-time credits Kiger earns in prison are limited to 15 percent of the 24-year term. When eventually paroled, he will be required to register as a sex offender for life in any jurisdiction where he lives, and he will face Three Strikes penalties for any new felony.
The victim, her older brother and her maternal uncle testified at trial, some traveling from out of state. The case was investigated by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, with support from the Sacramento County SAFE Center and the DA’s Bureau of Investigations and Victim/Witness Unit.