A Santa Rosa woman was sentenced Thursday, Jan. 29, to 36 years in prison for sexually abusing a girl who prosecutors say had been a victim of “grooming.”
Christina Whisman, 45, was sentenced by Judge Paige Hein in Sonoma County Superior Court, where Whisman pleaded guilty in late November to three counts of forcible lewd acts on a child and one count each of giving a minor cocaine and misdemeanor child molestation. She originally faced 14 charges, most involving sexual abuse.
Whisman stood silently beside her defense attorney, Rahul Balaram, who read a statement on her behalf. In it, Whisman acknowledged causing pain to the girl, whose name is being withheld because she is a minor and a victim of sex abuse, and resolved to redeem herself while incarcerated.
“All I can do is ask for forgiveness from Jane Doe,” Balaram said as he finished reading Whisman’s statement to the court.
Hein wished her luck before concluding the sentencing hearing, which lasted a matter of minutes before Whisman was removed from the courtroom by a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy.
Public records show Whisman previously worked as an account clerk for Sonoma County. A county spokesperson confirmed earlier this year that she was last employed in 2023.
Santa Rosa police arrested her Dec. 17, 2024. Prosecutors had been preparing to present evidence at a preliminary hearing Tuesday, but the hearing was canceled after Whisman entered her guilty plea. Details about the case are instead included in a Nov. 26 court filing that states Whisman tried to be a “cool” peer to children and held parties that included drugs and pornography.
Most charges involve a victim identified as Jane Doe, who was about 12 or 13 years old, not related to Whisman and spent time at her home, according to the filing. One night in March 2020, Jane Doe fell asleep at Whisman’s home and awoke to Whisman touching her inappropriately, despite the girl’s repeated pleas to stop.
Sonoma County Deputy District Attorney Brian Morimune emphasized to Hein Thursday that none of the behavior was consensual.
Whisman displayed controlling behavior, at times threatening self-harm if Jane Doe “did anything wrong,” investigators wrote. Sexual encounters occurred weekly, and by her mid-teens Jane Doe believed she was in a dating relationship with Whisman.
Over time, Whisman held parties for underaged children, encouraged them to drink alcohol and showed them footage of her engaged in sexual activity.
Her charges involving cocaine and misdemeanor child molestation involved activity between May 2023 and May 2024. The latter count involved a second victim identified as John Doe.
“Jane would later estimate there were times when (Whisman) was texting up to 20 different children on her phone at a time,” the filing document states.
You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com.
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