Chico Man Gets 15-to-Life, Ordered to Pay $200K Restitution for Sexually Abusing Child
Above: James Bui
(Photo credit: Butte County D.A.’s Office)
A Butte County man has reportedly been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay a six-figure restitution for the continuous sexual abuse of a child.
In a press release, the Butte County District Attorney’s Office announced that James Bui, 36, had been sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison and ordered to pay $200,000 restitution for the ongoing sexual abuse of his former girlfriend’s young child.
Bui had pled no-contest last year to sexual molestation of a child under 10 years of age.
In late spring of 2023, the Chico Police Department launched an investigation after the victim told her mother that Bui had been molesting her for years. Bui had been in a nine-year relationship with the victim’s mother, during which the victim had lived with them off and on.
The victim reported the abuse to her mother after her mother and Bui had broken up, and her mother notified police.
Investigators reportedly discovered that the abuse began when the victim was six years old, and continued for four years. Chico PD detectives arrested Bui in June of 2023, at which time Bui reportedly denied the allegations.
Investigators soon thereafter recovered messages to the victim from Bui’s cellphone, going back several years, which were sexual in nature and described his intentions with the victim despite her telling him no. Bui also reportedly sent the victim pornography and would tell her to delete the messages.
Bui was sentenced on February 28, 2024. In addition to the prison sentence, prosecutors requested that the victim be paid restitution for the trauma she had endured because of Bui. The judge granted the motion, awarding the victim $200,000 in restitution.
