A Melbourne woman was arrested Saturday after police say she was seen photographed sitting on top of a sea turtle.
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Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission patrol the beaches in June and July to make sure the turtles are able to come into the sand and lay their eggs.
Stephanie Marie Moore of Melbourne, Fla. was arrested for allegedly molesting a “marine turtle or eggs nest”, First Coast News, a Florida NBC affiliate, reported Saturday.
In the United States it is illegal to interfere with sea turtle nesting. Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Act restricts the disturbance, molestation or harassment of sea turtles, which are a protected species under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973. According to WESH, authorities interviewed both Moore and the second woman, who has yet to be arrested or identified.
Pictures of Stephanie Moore sitting over a sea turtle, apparently riding it, on a beach surfaced in July and sparked outrage.
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“I was hoping that some justice would be served, because if they didn’t do anything at all that sends out that very wrong message to a lot of people”. If found guilty, she faces up to five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. She was charged with molestation of a marine turtle.
