Police investigate threats after magistrate finds Newtown George Michael mural attacker guilty of malicious damage
THE man who smeared black paint over a George Michael mural in Erskineville has been found guilty of malicious damage.
Inner West
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THE man who smeared black paint over a George Michael mural in Erskineville has been found guilty of malicious damage.
Ben Gittany, 24, was captured on film saying “I’m defending my religion” as he defaced the artwork on the side of a Bray St home on November 24 last year.
The mural depicted the late singer as a saint wearing a robe, crucifix and a halo. In one hand he held a cannabis joint and in the other a bottle appearing to be amyl nitrate or “poppers”.
In Newtown Local Court on Friday, Magistrate Carolyn Huntsman found Gittany’s religious beliefs did not constitute a “reasonable excuse” for his offence.
“We are not a society that allows people to take the law into their own hands to assert their different point of view,” she said. “We are a pluralist society.”
Gittany, from Billywillinga near Bathurst, told the court he saw photos of the mural online and “asked someone to pick me up and take me to where it was”.
He said he was Catholic and believed the work was “offensive to me because it was a mural of Jesus holding drugs in full view of everyone”.
Gittany bought $135 worth paint and brushes on the way to Erskineville.
“I got out of the car and said I’m here to paint over the mural,” he said.
“Some people abused me, some people told me to stop. I just wanted to block it out.”
Gittany said he stopped when police arrived and charged him.
The property owners first heard about the incident while attending Newtown Police Station discussing two other, unrelated attacks on the mural that week.
One of the owners told the court the attacks were the first targeting the mural and came the week after Australia’s vote on same sex marriage.
He had not wanted to press charges as he “didn’t know if it would aggravate the people doing this”.
“I just wanted the situation to go away and feel safe in my home again,” he said.
The court heard the owners gave street artist Scott Marsh free rein to create the mural, commissioned two weeks after George Michael — who they knew — died in December 2016.
“It became a bit of a shrine. People would come and leave candles, flowers and listen to George’s music,” the owner said.
“George lived as a very out, proud man so using those implements (in the mural) as part of his iconography was just a playful depiction for those who loved him.”
In sentencing, Magistrate Huntsman described the damage as “awful”.
“The way it’s applied, the extensiveness of it, the thickness of it — it’s not like a tag on a beautiful bit of street art — it’s full on,” she said.
“Everybody’s different — you’ve heard them in court, what they had to say about George Michael and how the community felt about that mural.
“No matter what your beliefs, you damaged something that was dear to someone else.”
Police prosecutor Sheena Bucknell submitted Gittany pay $22,000 in compensation — a matter that will be considered at a sentencing hearing on September 4.
Speaking after the hearing the property owners told the Courier: “We are pleased the matter got to court.”
“We were really heartened by the magistrate’s remarks about the significant harm the vandalism caused us and our community,” they said.
“We’re also looking forward to doing something really positive with the wall.”
THREATS INVESTIGATED
IN THE wake of Friday’s judgment, supporters of Gittany took to social media threatening the magistrate and to “burn down the courthouse”.
A majority of comments were made on the Christian Lives Matter Facebook page.
A NSW Police spokesman said: “We can confirm officers from the Inner West Local Area Command are aware of the posts and are investigating.”
“The court has also been made aware of the contents of the posts,” the spokesman said.
COMMUNITY RESPONSE
ABOUT 20 supporters of the homeowner and artist attended Friday’s hearing. Among them was Newtown resident Paige Hart who said:
“(The attack) came the time of the marriage equality vote which is why I think this particular incident really hit home with a lot of people in Newtown,” she said.
“We’re hoping we can rectify the situation and keep Newtown weird.”
Also in attendance was Inner West independent councillor Pauline Lockie.
She said: “The destruction of this mural felt like a direct attack on our community, and I’m glad the magistrate recognised this when she handed down her verdict.”
“This decision should send a strong message to everyone that vandalism and homophobia are never okay and that when it comes to the inner west, love will always win,” she said.