Graffiti conviction for Australian woman who stuck googly eyes on sculpture

A 20-year-old woman has been convicted on a graffiti charge for sticking googly eyes on a famous sculpture in South Australia.

Amelia Vanderhorst pleaded guilty to the charge at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Tuesday. She was ordered to pay A$2,000 ($1,394; £1,040) as compensation and complete 60 hours of community service.

Vanderhorst had been under the influence of MDMA and three litres of vodka she had consumed on the night of the offence last September, her lawyer Michael Hill told the court.

She was originally charged with property damage, but that was amended to a graffiti charge after negotiations with the prosecution, Hill said.

Since the incident, Vanderhorst has "taken meaningful steps to address the issues that contributed to her offending, including reducing her substance use and focusing on stabilising her personal circumstances", Hill said in a statement to the BBC.

"She is committed to making better decisions moving forward," he said.

Vanderhorst had initially started a crowdfunding campaign for a lawyer, claiming that she was "young and jobless", ABC reported. But she later decided to cancel the campaign and return the donated funds, Hill said.

Last July, the city unveiled the sculpture Cast in Blue, which locals have since nicknamed the Blue Blob. When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.

Local Mayor Lynette Martin said the googly eyes was "wilful damage to a valued public artwork", and that repairs to the artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.

Costing A$136,000, the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture's designers inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was "massive, lumbering and fascinating".