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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She said the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.