Rock climber sentenced to life for Yosemite assaults

A professional rock climber convicted of sexually assaulting a woman three times during her visit to Yosemite National Park has been sentenced to life in prison.

Charles Barrett, 40, was sentenced on Tuesday 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 victim was on a weekend hiking trip in California, court documents and evidence showed.

At the time, Barrett, a star climber and guidebook writer, was living and working for a private business in the park.

US prosecutor Phillip Talbert said in a statement after the sentencing: "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 rock-climbing community, and when his victims began to tell, Barrett responded by lashing out publicly with threats and intimidation."

During the trial, prosecutors told the court Barrett lured the victim into an isolated area by inviting her to watch a meteor shower and then raped her, local news reported.

He also assaulted her while swimming in the Tuolumne River and raped her again in a communal shower, according to court documents.

Three other women testified during trial that Barrett had sexually assaulted them, beginning in 2008.

Prosecutors did not pursue charges for those women because the alleged incidents occurred outside of federal jurisdiction.

On the day of the sentencing, local news described the four women in court in tears, at times tightly holding hands.

Timothy Hennessy, Barrett's lawyer, told the judge a life sentence was inappropriate because Barrett suffers from a mental illness.

He also says the women conspired against him to "ruin his life", prosecutors said.

Barrett's lawyers said he plans to appeal against the conviction.

According to federal prosecutors, Barrett had a long history of abuse and harassment.

He showed up to a rock-climbing gym frequented by one of the victims who testified at a trial in 2017, years after he had allegedly attacked her, prosecutors said.

She told the gym owner about her experience - hoping to protect other women - and was harassed and threatened by Barrett for years afterwards, prosecutors said. He was convicted of criminal threats in August 2022.