Woman in Brevard sea turtle incident arrested

One of two females seen this summer in photographs that showed them sitting on sea turtles has been arrested after a disturbance early Saturday in Melbourne.

Stephanie Marie Moore, 20, of Melbourne, was arrested following reports of a disturbance in progress in the 600 Block of Espanola Way.

Melbourne Police officers who responded about 5 a.m. encountered a subject with an active felony warrant in reference to possess, sell, molest marine turtle or eggs nest.

In early July, two females were seen in photographs where they appeared to be sitting on sea turtles. These pictures flooded social media, and multiple complaints were forward to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which handled the criminal investigation.

"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," said David Hochberg, chairman of the board for the Sea Turtle Preservation Society in Indialantic. "I was outraged and disgusted and infuriated when this first came out."

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Andrea Hill, marketing and communications director with the Brevard Zoo, expressed similar sentiments.

"It's just an unfortunate and very callous thing that she did." Hill said.

She also noted that the impacts of Moore's actions could impact more than just the turtle itself.

"It is egg-laying season for turtles," Hill said. "This is their season and I'm not sure people are fully aware of the depth that it takes for a sea turtle to come and lay eggs that this person in pictures likely impeded."

Hochberg hopes that despite the ugly incident, some positives might be able to come out of it.

"I hope she gets better educated," he said. "The good thing is maybe she gets educated, and maybe she can turn around and spread the word herself."

He also adds that this isn't the first time something like this has happened: "It happens all the time, but people don't get caught."

"It's a greater impact than most people would necessarily be aware of as that contributes to the longevity of the species," Hill said.

Moore was arrested on the active warrant and taken to the Brevard County Jail. Bond was set at $2,000.

Anyone with information related to these events is asked to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.

Contact Bonanno at 321-242-3662, cbonanno@floridatoday.com or follow Chris on Twitter @FTChrisBonanno.