Man who climbed on top of the Las Vegas Sphere in death-defying stunt told police he will never be convicted
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: KCENNews/Tim Clements / News3LV
A brazen climber who scaled Las Vegas' huge Sphere building has claimed he won't be convicted for his crime.
Maison Des Champs, who is also known by his nickname 'Pro-Life Spider-Man', was swiftly arrested on Wednesday (7 February), after the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police received a call about someone climbing the Sphere.
The call came in just after 10:10am, but Des Champs was already at the top of the building by the time police were able to make contact with him.
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The climber, who is known for scaling high-rise buildings to gain attention while protesting abortion, admitted to climbing the Sphere, which stands at 366 feet (112 m) high.
Staff at the building estimated Des Champs' stunt resulted in $100,000 worth of damage to some of the 58 million lights which line the building and allow it to display images which shine out across the Vegas skyline.
After Des Champs was reported to police, an engineer who works for the Sphere removed some of the light tracks to allow Des Champs to climb through and enter the Sphere so he could return to ground through the inside of the building.
Des Champs was taken into custody on charges of destroying property of another, conspiracy to destroy private property, and disregard for safety of persons or property.
According to an arrest report cited by News3LV, Des Champs said he performed the stunt in an attempt to raise money for a pregnant woman so she wouldn't feel like she had to get an abortion.
In a video of himself climbing the building, Des Champs told followers: “She is homeless and pregnant and needs help."
Following his arrest, Des Champs allegedly pointed to his existing track record of climbing buildings and confidently expressed belief that he wouldn't be convicted for his crime.
His arrest report reads: "Maison told me that he has been arrested several times for climbing other buildings and that he has never been convicted and that his attorneys will get him off on this incident as well."
Three others were arrested alongside Des Champs in connection with the stunt, all on suspicion of the same charges as the climber.
All three were released on Thursday and ordered to stay out of the Las Vegas strip corridor and cease communication with Des Champs as the case continues.
Those arrested in connection with the stunt are set to appear in court on 12 February.
Des Champs' climb took place just days before Las Vegas is set to host Super Bowl LVIII.
UNILAD has contacted the Las Vegas Police Department for comment.