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Warning: This textual content material discusses sexual violence.
On October 30, longtime Bay Home climber Jason William Crist, 38, was arrested in Pacifica, California, and charged with 9 felonies for alleged occasions that occurred all through the state between March 2019 and October 2023.
He faces 29 counts related to sexual violence, a outcomes of 4 police tales describing interactions with him in Pacifica, Presidio, Joshua Tree, and Yosemite. The felony payments embody forcible rape, sexual battery, and assault. He posted bail for $500,000.
Climbing spoke with three girls who’ve made accusations in opposition to Crist. They describe how he, a former Arc’teryx NorCal ambassador and former Motion Climbing, Yoga, and Nicely being worker, had a relentless sample. On the climbing gymnasium in San Francisco’s Presidio park—beforehand Planet Granite, now Motion San Francisco—Crist would befriend youthful feminine climbers, usually novices who didn’t know many individuals throughout the neighborhood and didn’t nonetheless have the abilities to take themselves exterior. Then he would “act as a mentor or their ‘keys’ to outdoor climbing,” one lady instructed Climbing.
“He was educating on the gymnasium,” talked about one totally different of Crist’s complainants. “He was educating men and women. He had the choice to level out kids. It merely appeared like he had a rapport from the gymnasium and there was security there.” Nonetheless as rapidly as he obtained the ladies exterior, Crist would “cross established boundaries in methods that aren’t OK.”.
“He makes use of climbing journeys as the suitable time to harm individuals,” talked about one totally different complainant. “It’s an exact repeat situation.”
In response to this climber, there are at the moment 10 girls who’ve claimed to have related confrontations with Crist.
Crist’s arrest comes on the heels of former skilled climber Charlie Barrett’s February 2024 conviction for raping a girl in Yosemite Nationwide Park—and positively one amongst Crist’s complainants talked about that Crist’s case was eerily related for one elementary goal:
“Everybody knew,” she talked about. “Nonetheless not considered one of many utterly totally different guys throughout the neighborhood would inform a lady, ‘Hey, Jason’s creepy, don’t dangle spherical with him.’ They solely instructed me after the assault, like, ‘Oh yeah, I knew he was a nasty specific individual, I used to be anxious for you.’”
In response to all three complainants, managers at Motion Climbing, Yoga, and Nicely being had been made acutely conscious that Crist—an worker of three years—had allegedly assaulted fairly a number of workers and members, and, after these girls filed police tales, launched a months-long investigation. As a result of this, Crist was fired this earlier summer season season season and banned from all 29 Motion properties.
Whereas one amongst many women with whom Climbing spoke expressed appreciation for Motion’s dedication, and for the help that the Motion neighborhood has outfitted, others are pissed off that the information uncovered by Motion’s third-party investigators was not extensively publicized.
“If Motion knew additional relating to the assaults than anybody else,” says Kimbrough Moorea philosophy professor at San Francisco State College and the creator of Golden State Bouldering Guidebook“I’m upset that they sat on the information comparatively than sharing it with the climbing neighborhood. I don’t perceive how somebody might make that totally different.”
(In response to Climbing’s request for remark, a Motion spokesperson assured us that “Motion Climbing, Yoga and Nicely being prioritizes the protection and well-being of all neighborhood members, and we take any allegations of misconduct very significantly.” Nonetheless they added: “As that is an full of life investigation, we’re unable to remark.”)
Moore was made conscious about the police tales in opposition to Crist when the complainants reached out to him this summer season season season. Realizing that sexual assault conditions usually take years to finish in an arrest, he started actively working with the Bay Home Climbers Coalition, however that that they’d not nonetheless taken any motion when Crist was unexpectedly arrested.
The ladies we spoke with well-known that, whereas Crist and Barrett are excessive conditions, they aren’t the one dangerous actors.
“When all of the Charlie Barrett stuff obtained proper right here out,” talked about one lady, “all individuals pointed at him and was like, ‘That’s horrible. Don’t be that man. Good situation we obtained him. That man’s gone.’ And I actually really feel numerous people missed the purpose that it’s nonetheless occurring beneath our noses. I don’t need this story to be ‘Obtained one totally different one; good situation we obtained him.’ I would really like it to be an ongoing dialog. I would really like dudes to speak to their mates about how they’re treating girls. … I would really like individuals to know that sexual assault is a goal that girls depart climbing. Everybody deserves to basically actually really feel cozy and guarded as quickly as they’re on the crag. I may have left climbing. And if I may have left, then I actually really feel utterly totally different girls presumably have. And I hate that.”
This usually is a creating story. We’ll change it as additional info turns into obtainable.
