Professional Rock Climber Convicted Of Multiple Sexual Assaults In Yosemite
Yosemite, CA –- A professional rock climber has been found guilty of several sexual assaults while working at Yosemite National Park and could spend the rest of his life in prison.
A federal jury found 39-year-old Charles Barrett guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact during a weekend in Yosemite National Park. Barrett, who was working and living in the park, sexually assaulted a victim three times during the weekend. The incidents took place in August of 2016, as previously reported here.
Three other women testified that Barrett also sexually assaulted them, but he was not charged in those incidents because they were “outside federal jurisdiction but were admitted at trial as relevant to the charged assaults.” Prosecutors also charged, “This defendant used his renown and physical presence as a rock climber to lure and intimidate victims who were part of the rock-climbing community. His violent sexual assaults were devastating to the victims, whom he later threatened in the lead-up to trial,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “Today, the defendant has been held accountable for his crimes. My office will continue its work to make national parks such as Yosemite a safe place for all.”
U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez is scheduled to sentence Barrett on May 21, with a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office asks that anyone with information on this case, or possibly a victim, call 888-653-0009 or email nps_isb@nps.gov.
