The man who defaced a mural of queer icon George Michael in the wake of the results of the marriage postal survey being announced, has been sentenced in a Sydney court.

Ben Gittany, 24, was sentenced in the New South Wales Local Court on Tuesday morning after he covered the mural in black paint on November 18, 2017.

The mural painted by artist Scott Marsh in the inner city suburb of Erkenville was painted following the singer’s death in December 2016. It showed Michael depicted as a saint.

Gittany was filmed defacing the mural where he claimed he was defending his Christian faith. The attack took place three days after it was announced that same-sex couples would be allowed to wed in Australia.

Magistrate Carolyn Huntsman reportedly told Gittany that she had considered sending him to prison saying that his crime had affected a large community of people.

According to Buzzfeed, Gittany was sentenced to 300 hours of community service that may also include him having to clean graffiti. He was order to pay $14,000 in compensation for the damage to the mural.

Following the mural being blacked out people wrote messages of support for the local LGBTI community over the top of the damage.

OIP Staff