An endangered sea turtle was left seriously injured after an American tourist apparently dragged it out of the water, beat it with sticks and sexually assaulted the creature.
Local video surveillance cameras showed Robert W. Schlong, an American tourist, sexually molesting the endangered sea turtle which has now been transported to an animal refuge.
Tortuguero Police arrested Robert W. Schlong after several hotel employees reported the man having sex with multiple sea turtles over a two-week period.
“We asked him if he wanted a girl to spend the night with, but he said no and pointed to the ocean. He said he preferred the turtles,” one hotel employee told local reporters.
“He would grab a turtle and push it over on its back and then he would climb on top of it and do his thing,” hotel employee Manuel Castro told Canal 13, visibly amused.
Local biologist Annamaria Sanchez believes that even though the sex acts are “incredibly disturbing,” they are even more dangerous, and could possibly be deadly for the turtles.
“Performing vaginal or anal sex on a sea turtle could also permanently injure the creature and cause internal bleeding,” she warns.
Tortuguero Police later released Robert W. Schlong on a ₡120,000 bail (approx. $200 USD) until his trial and under strict conditions where he is not allowed to approach any sea turtle at less than 500 meters.
Costa Rican law establishes penalties of jail time ranging from three months to a year for harming an animal in a debilitating form or for bestiality.