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UPDATE: 'Creepytings' Vandal Pleads Guilty To Defacing Western National Parks

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Published Date

June 14, 2016

Editor's note: Updated with more details and response from the National Park Service and U.S. Attorney's Office.

The woman who painted and drew on rock formations in Western national parks in 2014 pleaded guilty Monday to defacing government property, according to the National Park Service. She was sentenced to two years probation and 200 hours of community service.

Casey Nocket, 23, pleaded guilty in a federal court to seven misdemeanors. She is banned from all lands administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Army Corps of Engineers during her probation period. An Investigative Services Branch Special Agent, aided by the ISB Intelligence Analyst, conducted the investigation, bringing the case to an Assistant U.S. Attorney for prosecution.

"The defendant's defacement of multiple rock formations showed a lack of respect for the law and our shared national treasures," Acting U.S. Attorney Philip Talbert said in a statement. "The National Park Service has worked hard to restore the rock formations to their natural state, completing cleanup efforts in five of the seven parks. They expect to complete cleanup efforts at Death Valley in the near future and at Crater Lake as weather permits."

According to court documents, Nocket damaged rock formations within seven national parks over a 26-day period in 2014, drawing or painting on them using acrylic paints and markers. In a case that drew national attention, Nocket was tracked via photos on her Instagram account. National Park Service investigators confirmed that images were painted on rocks and boulders in Yosemite National Park and Death Valley National Park, both in California; Rocky Mountain National Park and Colorado National Monument, both in Colorado; Crater Lake National Park, in Oregon; and Zion National Park and Canyonlands National Park, both in Utah.

A hearing to determine the amount of restitution Nocket is required to pay will be held at a later date. 

"This case illustrates the important role that the public can play in identifying and sharing evidence of illegal behavior in parks," Charles Cuvelier, chief of Law Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Services for the NPS, said in a release. "It is clear that the public cares deeply for the special places that the National Park Service represents, and the resolution of this case sends a message to those who would consider such inappropriate behavior going forward."

Vandalism at national parks has been in the news a lot recently, with incidents of spray painting at Grand Canyon National Park, killing an endangered species and destruction of property at Death Valley, and rock carving at Arches National Park.

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Comments

Just a thought here...what are the petroglyphs if not graffati?  Not that I'm in favore of defacing our national treasures...I thnk the judge should have given her a scrub brush and a bucket and told her to get to work.


Maybe if you'd paid attention in school and learned how to spell, write coherently, and communicate, we'd take you seriously.  No, probably and hopefully not;  we at least get your drift and it's pretty sad.


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