EIGHT former Emmanuel College students who launched a graffiti attack on King's College last year have ended up in court.
The incident was one of a series of separate tit-for-tat graffiti attacks involving Warrnambool's four senior schools.
The Emmanuel College students' plan saw two carloads of youths travel to King's College and paint and draw graffiti, before some of the offenders were caught at the scene.
Under police instructions they sent text messages to the co-offenders and all made full admissions.
The youths' application to have their cases go through the division court was rejected and they appeared in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court yesterday.
Those charged were Warrnambool's Lucas Boyd, 19, of Michelle Court; Dominic Finn, 19, of Kimberley Road; Zachary Pickett, 18, of Kerr Street; Bradley Pattison, 19, of Lancefield Street; Zacharich Eccles, 19, of Eccles Lane Purnim; Jack Standaar, 18, of Irvings Lane, Koroit; Tyson Gilmore, 19, of Caramut Road, Mailors Flat; and Jordan O'Keefe, 19, of Dunns Road, Winslow.
They all faced charges of causing criminal damage and trespass, except for Gilmore who was only charged with causing criminal damage.
The court heard that on October 14 last year, Emmanuel College students O'Keefe, Finn and Pattison discussed going to King's College and painting graffiti at the school.
The idea was discussed again the following two days before phone calls were made to Pickett, Standaar, Boyd and Gilmore.
On Friday, October 17, the youths met about 9pm at the home of one of the defendants and they then travelled in two cars to King's College.
At the school O'Keefe and Standaar handed out black spray paint and multi-coloured textas, while Gilmore remained with the cars outside the school grounds.
The other offenders then went and painted and wrote graffiti throughout King's College.
They scrawled graffiti on eight walls, three doors, three windows, a basketball backboard and two concrete slabs, writing words such as EC08, KC05 and BC08, as well as drawing pictures of 12 penises.
Police attended the school after receiving information and caught some of the offenders still on the grounds.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Kevin Mullins said the day after the graffiti attack, five of the youths went back to King's College and helped clean up the mess.
They offered to do a day's work and apologised for their behaviour. Pickett also paid his share of the damage bill directly to King's College.
The defendants were not convicted, placed on 12-month good behaviour bonds, ordered to each pay $250 to the court fund and $127.50 in compensation.
Pickett did not have to pay restitution or pay money to the court fund and Gilmore only had to pay $150 to the court fund as well as the compensation.
Magistrate Jonathan Klestadt said the community had an intolerance for graffiti and Australians in other parts of the world had been imprisoned for such offences.
He noted the remorse of the defendants and their effort to clean up the graffiti.
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