Man Who Climbed the Las Vegas Sphere Sentenced to Serve Prison Time

Maison DesChamps, who became the first person to climb the exterior of the Las Vegas Sphere in February 2024, causing over $100,000 in damages, was sentenced Monday to 45 days in the Clark County Detention Center.

DesChamps Sentenced for Climbing the Sphere

Judge Danielle Pieper, who oversaw the case, also sentenced DesChamps to one year of probation and ordered him to pay $77,270.32 in restitution to Sphere Entertainment for the damage caused during his climb. The venue’s LED pixels were not built to support the weight of people pulling themselves up on them.

DesChamps, a Las Vegas resident, has previously been arrested for climbing the Aria Resort & Casino in August 2021, the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco in May 2022, and the Chase Tower in Phoenix in February 2023. However, prosecutors in Clark County dropped the Aria charges, and there’s no record of a conviction in the other cases.

In court, Jay Cline, vice president of event production for Sphere Entertainment, described how the company evaluated the damage caused by DesChamps. He said they analyzed security footage, exterior camera recordings, and publicly available drone video to trace his route. 

Rope-access teams and drones were then used to inspect the affected areas. Cline testified that the total cost of repairs reached $107,686.32, including replacing 280 LED pucks at $150 each, along with two metal LED carriers, wiring, and labor for the rope teams. DesChamps’ defense, however, argued that some of that damage could be attributed to other factors, such as wind, bird strikes, or other unrelated impacts.

In a strange coincidence, DesChamps’ sentencing came just days after another person, acclaimed climber Alex Honnold, scaled the Sphere as part of an upcoming film called From the Edge. 

Here Are More Details About the Climb

DesChamps climbed the Sphere back on February 7, 2024, posting on social media that he did it to raise awareness for the pro-life nonprofit Let Them Live. The specifics revolve around helping a homeless woman named Isabel cancel her abortion appointment through the elaborate fundraising stunt.

The Las Vegas native, then 24, livestreamed his climb, urging viewers to donate, saying that “she is homeless, pregnant, and needs help.” In the end, his stunt was actually successful, as he raised nearly $48,000 for Isabel through Let Them Live.

DesChamps wrote on the fundraiser that their mission was twofold: to provide Isabel with the tangible support she urgently needed and to build a community around her grounded in hope and action. He added that the climb symbolized more than a physical challenge as it represented the uphill struggle Isabel faced each day.

In other news about the Las Vegas Sphere, a couple of months ago, the company behind the venue revealed plans for a new Sphere located at the National Harbor in Maryland.