A professional climber from California has been arrested and charged with allegedly committing sexual assault in Yosemite National Park.
Charles Barrett, 38, has been accused of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact, according to federal prosecutors in the state.
The US attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California made the indictment against Mr Barrett public on Tuesday. Prosecutors accuse him of forcibly committing sexual assault on two occasions and committing abusive sexual contact on a third in August 2016.
Authorities say that if convicted, Mr Barrett faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
Mr Barrett is originally from Santa Rosa, California, but spent the last 15 years living in the Eastern Sierra Mountains, according to a 2019 article by Tahoe Quarterly.
“Barrett is primarily known for pioneering some of the hardest bouldering routes in California,” the article stated. “He wrote a series of guidebooks highlighting some of the most difficult problems in areas throughout Yosemite National Park and the Eastern Sierra.”
The National Park Service is investigating the case.
Yosemite is one of the most famous areas in the world for rock climbing and the home of the sport in the United States. It features iconic climbs such as the Half Dome and El Capitan.
