A Santa Rosa native and prominent mountain climber has been sentenced to life in federal prison for sexual abuse he committed in Yosemite National Park, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Charles Barrett, 40, was found guilty in February of two counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of abusive sexual contact during a weekend at the park where he lived and worked.
One victim went to Yosemite for a hiking weekend in the summer of 2016, but was sexually assaulted by Barrett three times, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
During the trial, three more women came forward claiming he sexually assaulted them. These attacks fell outside federal jurisdiction “but were recognized at trial as relevant to the alleged assaults,” prosecutors said.
“The defendant used his fame and physical presence as a mountain climber to lure and intimidate victims who were part of the mountain climbing community,” U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said in a statement from his office. “His violent sexual attacks were devastating to the victims, whom he later threatened in the run-up to the trial.”
Prosecutors said Barrett made “hundreds” of phone calls while in custody prior to his sentencing, and that he “showed no remorse or remorse” in those calls.
“Instead, he threatened violence and vengeful lawsuits against the victims, claiming they had conspired to take his life,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The climbing magazine called Barrett “a fixture on the California climbing scene for two decades” following his indictment in August 2022. Barrett is also the author of several climbing guides.
