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

The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage showed a person placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

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

The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

When the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

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