By Marlyn Montilla
05 Jun 2024, 16:33 PM EDT
A California professional climber was sentenced to life in prison for sexually assaulting a woman on three occasions during a visit to Yosemite National Park.
Identified as Charles Barrett, 40, punished for two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact, according to federal prosecutors.
Barrett’s “abusive sexual contact” happened in August 2016 while the woman was on a weekend hiking trip in California, court documents and evidence say.
At the time, the subject, a star climber and guidebook writer, was living and working at a private company in the park.
For his part, prosecutor Phillip Talbert said in a statement after the conviction: “Barrett’s long history of sexual violence supports the imposition of a life sentence.”
“He used his status as a prominent climber to assault women in the climbing community, and when his victims began to come forward, Barrett responded by lashing out publicly with threats and intimidation.”
At trial, prosecutors alleged in court that Barrett lured the victim to a secluded area by inviting her to watch a meteor shower and then proceeded to sexually abuse her, according to local news.
Additionally, he raped her while she was swimming in the Tuolumne River and abused her again in a community shower, according to court documents.
In this sense, three other women testified against Barrett and said that he raped them since 2008, BBC News reported.
However, prosecutors did not file charges for the women because the alleged events occurred outside federal jurisdiction.
On the day of the sentencing, California media reported that the four women were crying in court, sometimes holding hands tightly.
The defendant’s attorney, Timothy Hennessy, told the judge that a life sentence was inappropriate for his client because he suffers from mental illness.
Likewise, he said the women conspired with him to “ruin his life,” prosecutors said.
Barrett’s defense said she planned to appeal the conviction.
According to federal prosecutors, Barrett had a long history of abuse and harassment.
The man showed up at a climbing gym frequented by one of the victims who testified at a trial in 2017, years after being abused, prosecutors said.
She told the gym owner about her bad experience, hoping to protect other victims, and Barrett harassed and threatened her for years, according to prosecutors. He was found guilty of criminal threats in August 2022.
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