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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates 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 September incident, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge advising her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the art piece.

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

She added the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.

Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.