Climber Charles Barrett sentenced to life imprisonment for sexual assault in Yosemite National Park

A well-known rock climber from Santa Rosa has been sentenced to life in federal prison for sexual assaults he committed in Yosemite National Park, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Charles Barrett, 40, was found guilty in February of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact over a weekend at the park where he lived and worked.

One victim was in Yosemite National Park for a hiking weekend in the summer of 2016, but was sexually assaulted three times by Barrett, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.

During the trial, three other women came forward and alleged that he had sexually harassed them. These assaults were outside the jurisdiction of the federal court, “but were recognized at trial as relevant to the assaults charged,” prosecutors said.

“The defendant used his reputation and presence as a climber to lure and intimidate victims from the climbing community,” U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said in a statement released by his office. “His brutal sexual assaults were devastating to the victims, whom he later threatened in the run-up to trial.”

Prosecutors said Barrett made “hundreds” of phone calls while in custody before his sentencing and “showed no remorse or regret.”

“Instead, he threatened violence and revenge against the victims, claiming they were plotting to control his life,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Climbing Magazine called Barrett “a fixture on the California climbing scene for two decades” following his indictment in August 2022. Barrett is also the author of several climbing guides.