Hawaii Monk Seal Attacker Says He Was a ‘Good Samaritan’ Saving Turtles (Video)

Myles Breiner, Lytvynchuk’s attorney, has made a public statement, claiming that his client had no intent of harming the monk seal, and instead, he was acting heroically.

“We believe he’s not guilty, because he never intended to injure the monk seal,” Breiner said. “In fact, it was just the opposite. When he threw the rock, it was to scare the seal away from the turtles, not knowing that it was also an endangered species.”

Sounds fishy. Per United States Attorney’s Office:

“Witnesses immediately confronted Lytvynchuk and told him they had contacted law enforcement, to which Lytvynchuk reportedly responded that he was ‘rich enough to pay the fines,’ before walking away.”

Nonetheless, according to Lytvynchuk’s attorney, he does feel remorse for his actions:

“My client recognizes that in light of it being an endangered species, it was a mistake to do that,” Breiner continued. “And he feels guilty for doing that. However, the basis for this action was on being a Good Samaritan.”

As for the citizen justice beatdown he received following the incident – see here – Lytvynchuk will not press charges against his attacker.

“He recognizes how sensitive this issue is with locals in Hawaii,” Breiner added on the matter.

Regarding possible sentencing, the US Attorney’s Office continued:

“If convicted, Lytvynchuk, faces up to one year in prison for each charge, plus a term of supervised release.  Lytvynchuk also faces a fine of up to $50,000 under the Endangered Species Act and a fine of up to $20,000 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.”

Lytvynchuk is expected to submit a “not guilty” plea on May 27th in Federal Court in Honolulu.