--- title: Woman Arrested for Harassing a Sea Turtle description: Stephanie Moore learned the hard way that riding turtles is wrong canonical: https://time.com/4051168/florida-woman-turtle-riding/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-26T18:33:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:32:08.356Z og:title: Florida Woman Arrested for Harassing a Sea Turtle og:description: A photo appears to show the woman squatting over a sea turtle og:url: https://time.com/4051168/florida-woman-turtle-riding/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2db42701a806da02/698865b05f570f5277b1d94e/sea-turtle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5400 og:image:height: 3038 og:image:alt: 561127711 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Florida Woman Arrested for Harassing a Sea Turtle twitter:description: A photo appears to show the woman squatting over a sea turtle twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2db42701a806da02/698865b05f570f5277b1d94e/sea-turtle.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Florida Woman Arrested for Harassing a Sea Turtle > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=12234dc4-9eba-4551-8967-bebd60e3f1be&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Florida Woman Faces Felony After Sitting On A Turtle [Watch (HLS stream): Florida Woman Faces Felony After Sitting On A Turtle](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NDhn1gYP.m3u8) (1:00)  _Published 2015-09-26. A Florida woman was arrested Saturday for allegedly sitting on a sea turtle, which is a third degree felony._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 26, 2015 6:33 PM UTC by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Sep 26, 2015 6:33 PM UTC A woman in Florida was [arrested](http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/news/local/florida/2015/09/26/florida-woman-arrested-for-sea-turtle-harassment/72873960/) early Saturday for harassing sea turtles after a photo of her squatting over a turtle’s back went [viral over the summer](https://www.facebook.com/Melbourne-Police-Department-135934972034/timeline/). 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. The police discovered Moore while responding to a call about a domestic disturbance. “During the course of this investigation, officers encountered a subject with an active felony warrant,” the Melbourne Police Department posted on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Melbourne-Police-Department-135934972034/timeline/), along with a photo allegedly showing Moore hunched over a sea turtle. Moore was taken to Brevard County Jail, where her bond was set at $2000. The Marine Turtle Protection Act makes it a third-degree felony to injure, harm, harass, capture or attempt to capture any marine turtles, eggs or nests, according to FCN. ## Transcript If you have to know one thing about Florida, know this. It is not okay to mess with the turtles. Stephanie Marie Moore has learned that the hard way after being arrested for at the very least apparently sitting on a sea turtle. You may have seen this Snapchat picture that made the online rounds in July of Moore doing the deed, upsetting tons of people. Oh, no, they're really riding them? Different people, I think that's horrible. Same reaction. I think that's bad, just because, I mean, there's, everyone loves turtles. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission began an investigation after the outrage, netting Moore a warrant for her arrest. Melbourne police say they were responding to an unrelated domestic disturbance call. When they encountered more, and linked her to an active warrant for the turtle riding incident. Sea turtles are protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act and a more specific Marine Turtle Protection Act, making Moore's offense a third- degree felony. 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