Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that a professional rock climber known in California's climbing community was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in Yosemite National Park in 2016.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California announced that Charles Barrett, 38, was found guilty by a jury of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of sexual abuse.
According to court documents, Barrett used physical force to have sex with the victim over a weekend in August.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said the charges he was convicted of carry a sentence of life in prison, but that sentencing guidelines and other factors come into play. Sentencing is scheduled for May 21st.
Barrett was indicted in 2022. Barrett was charged with crimes against one woman, but three others testified at trial that they were similarly victimized by Barrett, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced. The newspaper said the federal government did not file criminal charges because the incidents did not occur within federal jurisdiction.
U.S. Attorney Philip Talbert said Barrett used his fame to lure the victims to the park, where he lived and worked at the time.
“This defendant used his fame and presence as a rock climber to lure and intimidate his victims, who are members of the rock climbing community,” Talbert said in a statement. “His violent sexual assaults shocked the victims, and he later threatened them in preparation for his trial.”
Outside, a magazine focused on sports such as rock climbing, described Barrett as a prominent member of Northern California's climbing community.
The victim went hiking in Yosemite over the weekend, messaged Barrett with an offer to hike, and eventually met with him, prosecutors said in court filings. Prosecutors wrote that Barrett is suspected of sexually assaulting her three times over the weekend.
“She drove home when she felt it was safe to flee without upsetting her husband,” prosecutors said in a prepared statement. A woman reported a sexual assault to Yosemite authorities in 2020.
Barrett's attorneys, Timothy Hennessy and David Torres, said they did not believe the evidence warranted a guilty verdict, but said they respected the jury's decision. Barrett plans to appeal and believes the evidence will vindicate her, her lawyers said.
“Going into this case, Mr. Barrett knew it would be a long battle to clear his name. [i]It’s a fight he never gives up on,” Hennessy and Torres said in a statement Tuesday.
