Former Love Island USA star Cashel Barnett has been charged with three additional felonies following an alleged incident in 2024.
Multiple local Utah outlets reported that on Tuesday, June 24, that the 31-year-old reality star alum was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, third-degree aggravated assault and third-degree domestic violence in the presence of a child. The three charges stem from an alleged incident that took place late last year.
“We were made aware of the new charges brought by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office Tuesday afternoon,” Barnett’s attorney, Andrew K. Deesing, shared in a statement to Us Weekly. “Mr. Barnett is presumed innocent, strongly denies any wrongdoing, and looks forward to his day in court. Obviously, we’re in the very early stages of this, so we don’t have any further comment at this time.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Barnett’s attorney for further comment.
The three additional felonies come after Barnett was initially charged with aggravated assault and domestic violence last month. The mother of Barnett’s child alleged that he caused her to lose consciousness by holding her against a couch in April. Once she regained consciousness, Barnett allegedly slapped and raped her, Utah law enforcement told local outlet KJZZ14 in May.
A police report alleged that the woman suffered “difficulty breathing, a raspy voice, coughing, trouble swallowing, neck pain, nausea, vomiting, agitation, amnesia, memory loss, visual changes” and a “headache” following the alleged altercation.
Barnett made his reality TV show debut during season 1 of Love Island USA in 2019. He was coupled up with Caro Viehweg, Kyra Green and Katrina Dimaranan throughout his time in the villa before being dumped from the island on day 17.
He went on to appear on the first season of The Challenge: USA 1 in 2022. He was eliminated during the show’s second episode. Barnett spoke about his surprise elimination from the show during an interview with Entertainment Weekly in July 2022, explaining that he gave everything he could during the competition.
“I never give up. I never think that I’m going to lose. I’m going to give it my all,” he said at the time. “I’ve been an athlete my whole life and you don’t give up until you reach the finish line. I was not concerning myself with what was going on on the other side.”
However, he didn’t feel as though being on Love Island didn’t help him gear up for The Challenge.
“In general, sitting around on a beach and flirting does not help you in The Challenge,” Barnett added. “At all.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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