Graffiti vandal William Cox, 19, jailed for 18 months after train painting spree

A 19-YEAR-old graffiti vandal who led a gang on a spray paint spree of train networks which cost taxpayers $400K has been sentenced to 18 months’ jail.

A 19-YEAR-old graffiti vandal who led a gang on a spray paint spree of train networks which cost taxpayers $400,000 has been sentenced to 18 months’ jail.

William Cox, of Carlton, was facing 180 graffiti-related charges after he and four others were charged by the Police Transport Command last September for damaging trains across Sydney.

The group who called themselves DTP — meaning “Down to Paint” — roamed Sydney’s train tunnels cataloguing their damage with GoPro cameras and mobile phones before posting their “work” on social media. Police allege the combined cost of DTP’s damage and the following investigation was more than $400,000.

Graffiti vandal William Cox, 19.

Graffiti taggers in Sydney's train tunnels.

Last month Cox pleaded guilty to 147 charges and was sentenced in Central Local Court last week.

He was ordered to pay $35,000 in compensation to Sydney Trains and will be eligible for parole in November.

Sydney Trains told the court that Cox was responsible for a third of the 850sq m of spray-painted murals that were linked to his gang and which cost more than $120,000 to remove.

In December a 16-year-old was placed on a 12-month bond and ordered to pay $2000 for his role in the gang. Christian Russell, 18, was fined $500, placed on a bond and ordered to pay $1400 in compensation. Alexandre Da Silva, 18, was also put on a bond, fined $1100 and ordered to pay $2500 in compensation.

Ben Sonneman, 21, is due in court next month after pleading guilty to assault. Police found more than 300 spray paint cans and a Sydney Trains hard hat and vest during a raid on Cox’s home.

The group tagged trains from Kiama to Newtown, targeting train yards, and had an intimate knowledge of how the transport network operated. Police said the ease with which the group was able to access rail corridors had “significant implications” for the national security of critical infrastructure.

One security guard who tried to stop Cox and his co-accused at Liverpool train station last August was told “we are going to kill you” and was chased by the masked youths.

The group who called themselves DTP — meaning “Down to Paint” — roamed Sydney’s train tunnels cataloguing their damage with GoPro cameras.

A train driver had to make an emergency brake when he spotted the group on tracks in August. When the train stopped the group tagged it.

PTC Superintendent Jason Joyce said money used on cleaning the damage and investigating the gang could have been better spent.

“This sort of crime impacts the community. The money could have been spent on upgrading public transport,” he said.