A professional rock climber was handed a life sentence on Tuesday after being convicted of repeatedly raping a 19-year-old woman at Yosemite National Park, prosecutors said.
Charles Barrett, 40, was found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact that occurred during a weekend at the park in August 2016, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced in a press release.
The teen victim went to Yosemite to hike and was assaulted three times by Barrett, who was living and working inside the park at the time.
Over the course of the trial, three more women testified that Barrett had sexually assaulted them, as well.
“These assaults were not charged because they were outside federal jurisdiction but were admitted at trial as relevant to the charged assaults,” the Eastern District of California Attorney’s Office said.
In 2017, seven years after Barrett allegedly assaulted one of the victims who testified, prosecutors said he “purposely climbed at a rock-climbing gym where the victim attended.”
After the victim reported this to the gym owner, Barrett responded by “harassing and threatening her for several years,” officials said.
He was convicted of making criminal threats in relation to that case in August 2022.
While in custody on the present case, Barrett made hundreds of phone calls, showing “no remorse or regret,” the attorney’s office said.
“Instead, he threatened to use violence and vindictive lawsuits against the victims, claiming that they designed a conspiracy to ruin his life,” prosecutors stated.
“Barrett’s long history of sexual violence supports the imposition of a life sentence,” Talbert said. “He used his status as a prominent climber to assault women in the rock-climbing community, and when his victims began to tell, Barrett responded by lashing out publicly with threats and intimidation.”
“This case is a testament to the courage of the victims who reported these crimes,” the prosecutor continued. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to investigate and prosecute violent crimes in National Parks like Yosemite.”
Yosemite National Park Superintendent Cicely Muldoon said the sentencing “sends a clear message about the consequences of this criminal behavior.”
“It makes Yosemite a safer place for the climbing community, park visitors and our employees,” she said in the attorney’s office press release.
Barrett’s lawyers said in a statement that the New York Times obtained that the “imposition of a life sentence was excessive” and that they would file an appeal.
