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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

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

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate 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 members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.