A man has been charged after a Melbourne synagogue was allegedly defaced with offensive graffiti on multiple occasions.
Police allege the 37-year-old man spray-painted phrases on the outside walls of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation on Toorak Road, South Yarra, six times between March and July this year.
He was arrested after a search warrant was executed at his South Yarra home today, with investigators seizing items linked to the alleged offences.
The man faces six counts of criminal damage and six counts of offensive graffiti. He has also been charged with five counts of using an unregistered motor vehicle, five counts of unlicensed driving, and one count of failing to stop on police direction.
Earlier this month, police released CCTV of a man allegedly targeting the synagogue, in some cases arriving on a black e-scooter and, on two July dates, concealing his face with a Scream mask.
The alleged graffiti, sprayed in red and blue paint, included messages such as “free Palestine” and “Iran is da bomb”. The synagogue, which is heritage-listed, was allegedly vandalised on March 11, June 21, June 22, July 22, and July 30.
“Police certainly take a dim view of this sort of abhorrent behaviour in the public arena,” Inspector Martin McLean said at the time.
The 37-year-old has been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on November 21.
Image: Victoria Police
