Love Island star jailed for a year after pleading guilty to sex abuse and domestic violence charges... as ex brands sentence 'an injustice'

Love Island star Cashel Barnett, following his guilty plea to sex abuse, assault and domestic violence charges, was sentenced to a year in custody in a Utah jail - which the victim calls an injustice.

The Sacramento, California native, 34, is best known for his stint on the inaugural season of the reality show Love Island USA, which aired on CBS during the summer of 2019. Barnett, who has nearly 80,000 Instagram followers, subsequently appeared on The Challenge: USA in 2022.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office told TMZ on Tuesday that Barnett was sentenced to a year in jail following guilty pleas to three criminal charges.

They included second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse, third-degree felony aggravated assault and third-degree felony domestic violence in the presence of a child.

Barnett commenced serving his sentence this past January 12; and will also receive credit for time served in the wake of the sentencing, officials told the outlet.

Daily Mail has reached out to Barnett's lawyer and the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office for further comment on the story. 

Barnett, an alum of Fordham University, will be placed on probation following completion of his sentence, the outlet reported after reviewing court docs.

A protective order has been instituted that forces Cashel to keep a minimum distance from both his ex-girlfriend and child upon his release, legal docs stated.

An insider close to Barnett's former girlfriend - who said in court docs that Barnett sexually assaulted her in late 2024 - told TMZ that she condemned what she felt was a light sentence during a victim impact statement delivered to the court.

'Imagining all the hurt and long-lasting damage and having a one-year sentence feels like an injustice,' Barnett's former girlfriend said in the impact statement, the insider told the outlet.

Barnett's former girlfriend said she was praying 'for the safety of all three of my children and for' herself in the wake of the sentencing.

In legal docs filed last year obtained by DailyMail.com, prosecutors said that Barnett fought with his ex-girlfriend on April 10, 2025. Their one-year-old child was in the room at the time, prosecutors said in legal documents.

At one point, prosecutors said Barnett grabbed her neck with his hands and forced her onto a bed while choking her to a point she said she could not 'breathe or see clearly.'

Prosecutors said last year, 'The report of strangulation is particularly concerning. Injuries related to strangulation can be serious, yet not necessarily apparent.

'Victims who have been non-fatally strangled are 7.5 times more likely to become a subsequent victim of homicide at the hands of the same abusive partner.'

Prosecutors said that they believed 'that the victim will likely suffer further domestic abuse at the hands of the defendant should he remain out of custody.'

Andrew Deesing, the attorney who represented the reality star in the case, told TMZ Tuesday that the sentence his client received was in accordance 'with the plea agreement crafted by the State.

'The State recommended that he be placed on probation and the judge after having heard the June testimony, agreed to impose that sentence.'

Deesing noted that 'the original charges carried with them a prison sentence of 15 years to life.'

Barnett 'believes the joint plea agreement, substantial reduction, and factual basis represent the appropriate resolution of this case,' his lawyer told the outlet.