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A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.