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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

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