The man charged with vandalizing a mural of the late George Michael has now been found guilty.
Last November, several people took offense to a George Michael mural in Newtown, Australia. The painting depicts the late singer as a saint with a bottle of poppers in one hand, a joint in the other, and a crucifix hanging from his left ear.
As GayStarNews reports, many in the Christian Facebook group Christian Lives Matter were upset by the mural. One such man was Ben Gittany.
Gittany painted over the mural with black paint, but was careless and got recorded by nearby cameras.
As Music Feeds reports, Magistrate Carolyn Huntsman found Ben Gittany guilty of malicious damage. She also stated that Gittany’s religious beliefs did not justify vandalism.
“We live in a pluralistic society,” Huntsman told him in court.
Mural artist Scott Marsh spoke to GayStarNews to share what he thought of the ruling, “Its a great result and I’m sure a huge relief for everyone in that local community.”
Sadly, Gittany wasn’t the only person to vandalize the mural. In fact, the mural was vandalized several times in that same November week.
According to the ABC, a 16-year-old boy, whose identity is being withheld due to his age, was charged with defacing the Newtown, Australia mural by painting homophobic messages and crucifixes on the artwork.
The boy was caught by police as they witnessed him and a few other young men graffitiing the wall. While the group of young men ran, the police were able to catch this one culprit.
The court case is still ongoing.
h/t: GayStarNews, Music Feeds, The ABC
