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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of property damage.

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

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.