A San Diego woman was banned from all national parks in the United States for vandalizing rock formations.
Casey Nocket pleaded guilty to seven misdemeanors counts for defiling rock formations with graffiti in national parks.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto also sentenced the 23-year-old woman to 200 hours of community work.
On 2014, the self-proclaimed hiker traveled to Death Valley and Yosemite National Parks in California, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, Rocky Mountain National Park and Colorado National Monument in Colorado, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon and Zion National Park in Utah, where she tarnished the rock formations with her artworks. Previous reports said the paintings were made using acrylic paint.
As if unaware of the repercussions, she even left her signature "creepytings" on the paintings and documented and posted photos of them on social media, prompting outrage.
According to Yahoo News, extreme methods such as sandblasting and chemical stripping were used in some of Nocket's "artwork," resulting to more cleanup problems and severe damage to the irreplaceable natural features.
Quoting acting U.S. Atty. Phillip A. Talbert, LA Times wrote, "The defendant's defacement of multiple rock formations showed a lack of respect for the law and our shared national treasures. The National Park Service has worked hard to restore the rock formations to their natural state, completing clean-up efforts in five of the seven national parks."
Meanwhile, a hearing to determine the amount of restitution Nocket is required to pay will be held at a later date, KTLA 5 reported.
Nocket's social media account has been deleted since the issue. Cleanup efforts are expected to be continued once the weather permits.
© 2024 NatureWorldNews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.