Professional rock climber receives life sentence for series of sexual assaults in Yosemite National Park

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (TCD) — A 40-year-old professional climber will spend the rest of his life behind bars for repeatedly sexually assaulting a woman in Yosemite National Park over a weekend in 2016.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced the verdict against Charles Barrett on June 4. A federal jury found him guilty in February of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact.

In August 2016, the female victim reportedly traveled to Yosemite National Park for a weekend of hiking. Barrett lived in the park and worked for a company there. Prosecutors said he sexually assaulted the victim three times.

Three other women testified in court, claiming Barrett sexually assaulted them as well. The defendant was not charged in the separate counts because they occurred outside the federal jurisdiction, but prosecutors said the women’s testimony was relevant to the case.

According to the law firm, in 2017, Barrett “intentionally climbed at a climbing gym” that one of his victims went to after sexually assaulting her seven years earlier. The victim told the gym’s owner about the assault, and prosecutors said “Barrett responded by harassing and threatening her for several years.” Barrett made criminal threats in January 2022, for which he was convicted in August 2022.

According to the law firm, Barrett made several phone calls while in custody in which he “showed no remorse or regret” and “threatened violence and revenge against the victims, claiming they were plotting to ruin his life.”

U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said Barrett “exploited his status as a well-known climber to attack women in the climbing community, and when his victims began to speak out, Barrett responded by publicly threatening and intimidating.”

MORE:

• Professional rock climber sentenced to life in prison for sexual assault in Yosemite National Park – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California
• Professional rock climber convicted of sexual assault in Yosemite National Park, February 13, 2024 – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California

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