Rapist and climber gets life sentence but shows no remorse

Charles Barrett, who raped a woman three times during a weekend in Yosemite National Park in August 2016, was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in California. (Inset by Barnett via the Mono Sheriff’s Office; image of Yosemite in 2019 via Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a professional rock climber to life in prison after finding him guilty of aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact that occurred in Yosemite National Park in 2016.

Charles Barrett, 40, raped a woman three times in the park over a weekend, prosecutors said. A jury found him guilty in February after the woman and three other victims testified that Barnett had sexually abused them over the years. Barnett had a “long history of sexual violence,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California Phillip A. Talbert.

“He used his status as a prominent climber to attack women in the climbing community, and when his victims began to speak out, Barrett responded by publicly responding with threats and intimidation. This case is a testament to the courage of the victims who reported these crimes,” Talbert said in a statement.

In the days before his sentencing, Barnett’s phone calls from prison showed he felt no remorse for the crimes he was convicted of. He described himself as a “victim of a false prosecution.” He reportedly called the victims’ version of events leading to his conviction “wild” and “crazy” and said the trial was just “some girls telling them what they wanted,” according to a supplemental sentencing report.

During a phone call with his uncle on May 13, Barnett read part of a book in which he claims his victims are setting back the #MeToo movement. They are “single-handedly setting back the work of the people, their families, their friends, who are working tirelessly to have a voice as actual victims and to seek justice,” he reportedly wrote.

Barnett also claimed that his case was a conspiracy because members of the National Park Service were “targeting him,” the report said.

“Barrett’s calls for prison time continue to demonstrate a complete lack of remorse and a victim mentality that cannot be rehabilitated,” prosecutors wrote.

According to court documents, the victim, identified in court documents as KG, met Barrett during a hiking weekend in August 2016. She was 19 at the time. On Saturday, August 13, 2016, Barnett raped and strangled the victim so violently that she was “scared to death,” prosecutors said. After the rape, the victim’s strategy was to “get through to Monday as unscathed as possible.” But the next day, a Sunday, Barnett raped her twice, including once in the shower.

After returning home, she reportedly confronted Barrett about the assaults, to which he responded that she “liked it.” In the years that followed, Barnett continued to harass the victim, saying he knew where she was and trying to prevent her from getting a job. He also accused the woman’s then-boyfriend of slashing his tires, and she continued to receive random calls from disposable cell phones, which she hung up on, according to prosecutors.

More on law and crime: Woman with flat tire kidnapped and sexually abused by man offering roadside assistance: Police

“Barrett also posted publicly on his social media, comparing himself to Johnny Depp and threatening (the victims) with lawsuits,” prosecutors wrote.

The victim reported the assaults to the National Park Service in 2020 and federal prosecutors charged him in 2022.

The three other victims testified at his trial that he raped them in 2010, 2015 and 2016. After one of the alleged assaults, he allegedly admitted his crime and told the victim the morning after the incident, “I know I raped you.”

Barnett was a well-known professional climber who worked for a company in Yosemite National Park and lived on the property. His lawyers called the life sentence “pretty harsh” and said they would appeal the guilty verdict.

During the sentencing, the four victims often held hands and expressed their relief, the Sacramento Bee reported.

“What Charlie (Barrett) did to me cannot be undone,” KG said, according to the newspaper.

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