According to the Associated Press, Vanessa Hudgens has agreed to pay a $1,000 fine after vandalizing U.S. Forest Service land in Sedona, Arizona, earlier this year.
Around Valentine’s Day, Hudgens posted a now-deleted photo on Instagram of a heart bearing her name and the name of her boyfriend, Austin Butler, carved into a red rock wall in the Coconino National Forest.
The photo caught the attention of Forest Service officials. Hudgens was issued a citation on a misdemeanor count of damaging a natural feature on protected land.
The misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months’ jail time and a $5,000 fine.
Hudgens admitted that she had vandalized the rock and told the authorities where they could locate the carving back in February. The agreement was reached on April 19 and was not made public until this week. Her fine was used to fund a volunteer group called Friends of the Forest that restored the rock wall.
Brady Smith, the spokesman for Coconino National Forest Service, said that although many visitors’ vandalism goes unpunished, Hudgens’ celebrity status led to her being caught and fined.
“She was caught in the act because she publicized it and she’s famous,” Smith said. “I’m sure there are others who are not famous and publicized it and we’ve never known.”
It appears that Hudgens received a fairly light punishment with all things considered.
