Man who climbed Las Vegas Sphere to raise money for pregnant homeless woman receives prison sentence
A man who described himself as 'pro-life Spiderman' has been given a prison sentence after scaling the Las Vegas sphere.
Maison Des Champs was given a 45-day prison sentence over the stunt, according to court records, as well as a suspended sentence of 364 days.
The ascent caused $100,000 in damages to the landmark attraction, and Des Champs has also been ordered to pay $77,270.32 to the Sphere Entertainment Complex which runs the venue.
Des Champs, 26, was also slapped with one year of probation following his release from prison after the custodial sentence after pleading guilty to gross misdemeanor charge of acting with wilful or wanton disregard for the safety of people or property, according to the New York Post.
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The anti-abortion activist, who is from Las Vegas, staged the climb and raised $48,000 for the organization Let Them Live.
On its website, the Let Them Live says that it if a woman wants an abortion it 'offers them financial support so that they can choose life instead'.
Their website also states that 'each mom signs an agreement stating that she will not seek an abortion after accepting our assistance.'
Des Champs pulled off the stunt to raise money for the pro-life organization, which had promised to support a homeless woman so that she would cancel her 'abortion appointment'.
He live-streamed the climb, which saw him walking over and damaging some of the imaging panels which make up the sphere, asking viewers to donate because 'she is homeless and pregnant and needs help'.
The climb raised $48,000 for Let Them Live, reaching the $25,000 goal for financial support to the woman, who had reportedly scheduled an appointment to terminate her pregnancy three days after Des Champs made the climb.
Des Champs said he wanted to give 'the tangible support she desperately needs and to rally a community around her that believes in the power of hope and action'.
Emily Berning, co-founder and president of Let Them Live, told UNILAD: "Maison Des Champs is a longtime supporter of Let Them Live who used his skills as a free climber to bring attention to women facing unplanned pregnancies and serious financial hardship.
"His efforts were aimed at raising awareness of the realities many women face when they feel they have limited support and are considering abortion due to difficult circumstances.
"Public attention around his efforts has contributed to increased awareness of available support, and in some cases women have reached out to access assistance during moments of crisis.
"At Let Them Live, everyday we see that when a woman receives tangible support, it can change the direction of her pregnancy decision. The heart of what we are focused on is making sure women are not facing those decisions alone or without help.
"While I am saddened by the sentencing that Maison is facing, I am confident that he will have profound peace during this time."
Let Them Live has previously been critcized after a woman who agreed not to terminate her pregnancy claimed that she didn't receive the financial support that was promised to her, according to reporting from Business Insider.
The organization's CEO Nathan Berning said in response to the claims: "We offered too much support to too many people and we didn't have the ability to financially support all of those moms at that time."
Emily Berning told UNILAD that following an 'internal review', some women 'were found to be fraudulent after we had begun planning their support' while others 'experienced disruptions in their financial support due to internal process and communication breakdowns'.
She added: "In the cases where support was interrupted, we did not disengage from those women. I personally reached out to them, acknowledged the breakdown in process, and worked to ensure that any commitments made to them were fulfilled.
"Following the internal review of the Business Insider concerns, we implemented a number of operational improvements, including strengthened verification procedures, clearer financial plan tracking systems, and additional staff training to improve consistency and accountability. As a result, our internal processes are now more structured and robust than they were at the time of the cases referenced."
Another woman told Business Insider that after having the first part of an abortion procedure called a dilation, she was resting in her hotel when she was bombarded with messages from people saying they were from Let Them Live, telling her not to do it, including one person claiming to be a priest who sent her images of bloodied foetuses.
Berning told UNILAD: "This did not occur. Let Them Live does not engage in or condone harassment, coercion, or the use of graphic imagery in communications with women seeking support. Any such conduct would be a serious violation of our standards and is not representative of our organization."
Kit Roberts