A woman allegedly embarked on an Islamophobic and anti-Arab graffiti spree at a major Sydney shopping centre and at a sports stadium over more than six months, scrawling messages such as “Arabs are all terrorists” on the walls of public toilets.
Bronwyn Elizabeth Nowicki, 53, was granted bail in Parramatta Local Court on Sunday over nine counts of damaging property inside the toilets of Hornsby Westfield shopping centre and CommBank stadium in Parramatta.
Many of the offensive messages were written in toilets inside the Westfield Shopping Centre at Hornsby.Credit: Peter Rae
The court heard she allegedly committed the repeated and deliberate offending between July last year and this weekend at both locations.
Magistrate Wills called the offences serious and public. Vulnerable people like children and the elderly were able to see them. She said there was a strong prosecution case as the alleged acts had been caught on CCTV.
Court documents allege Nowicki first used a black texta at Westfield Hornsby in July. On August 17 at the same shopping centre, she is accused of writing “Islam is not a religion, it is a satanic cult. Muslims f-k off to Palestine. Scarf = ugly sl-t”.
The message continued: “Muslims are terrorists and need to f--k off from our country. Palestine supporters need to f--k off to Palestine. Scarf = ugly slut who f--k their brothers. Islam = terrorist cult”.
Over the next several months, she allegedly returned to the same shopping centre to write variations of anti-Arab and anti-Islamic comments, including “Arabs and Muslims f--k off. Go to Palestine if you want to support the dogs there.. Hamas started this… Muslim cult, not religion”.
Some offences were allegedly committed inside the toilets of Commbank Stadium, ParramattaCredit: Google Maps
The messages found at CommBank Stadium on Saturday, also written on the public toilet door in black texta, read: “the mob have spoken, Arabs are all terrorists and need to f--k off to Palestine”.
On January 20, police attached to Ku-ring-gai Police Area Command discovered the offensive graffiti at Hornsby Westfield and began investigating. About 7pm on Saturday, police at CommBank Stadium discovered more.
Following inquiries, police arrested Nowicki inside the stadium and took her to Parramatta Police Station, where she was charged with nine counts of destroy or damage property and was refused police bail.
Her defence lawyer told the court she had no criminal record, had been in Australia her whole life and was otherwise of “upstanding character”.
“The defence concedes the objective gravity, not by way of value of the damage but the dangerous rhetoric over the past six months of which these offences took place,” he said.
“The defence concedes there is CCTV footage showing her go and leave the bathrooms and she made partial admissions to police.“
The court heard Nowicki suffered mental health issues, including bipolar, PTSD, depression and anxiety and that she had struggled with the recent death of her mother.
The prosecution opposed the granting of bail, noting Nowicki’s risk of committing further offences and endangering the community, where “these offences are far too prevalent”.
But Wills said the risks could be mitigated with bail conditions including living with her elderly father and her siblings and being barred from entering Hornsby Westfield.
Nowicki appeared via audiovisual link from prison, wearing a purple T-shirt and glasses sitting on her head.
Sydney has been rocked by religious hate graffiti in recent months, including a wave of antisemitic attacks in the city’s east, which is home to a significant Jewish community.
Nowicki has not entered pleas and will return to Hornsby Local Court on Thursday.