Judge Releases 38-Year-Old Man Charged in Rock Attack on Endangered Monk Seal

9 articles · Updated · KOMO News · May 13

Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, was released after an initial federal court appearance in Seattle and ordered to surrender his passport before a May 27 hearing in Honolulu.
Prosecutors say he threw a large rock at the head of a Hawaiian monk seal known as Lani on Maui on May 5, narrowly missing and startling the endangered animal.
The criminal complaint charges him under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act after NOAA agents arrested him near Seattle on Wednesday.
If convicted, Lytvynchuk faces up to 1 year in prison on each charge and fines of up to $50,000 and $20,000, while animal advocates criticized his release as too lenient.

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