Billy Smith: Inside the Penshurst toilet block where ‘Tradie’, 46, allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl
From the outside it looks like a modern public toilet in a well maintained park in the suburbs. Clean for a common amenity room, the only defect is a missing lock above the door handle.
But despite appearances, police will claim that the south Sydney toilet was the sinister site where a local predator gruesomely raped a cognitively impaired 14-year-old girl.
Trader Billy Smith, 46, is said to have lured the teen around 7:30 a.m. Monday to Pole Depot Park, which is right next to his home in Penshurst, after meeting her online.
Once she arrived, Smith allegedly raped her in the toilet for an hour while she filmed the attack.
In the photo: the toilet block where a teenage girl was sexually assaulted on Monday
The modern toilet is located in a lonely building at the back of the enclosed park
Police allege Smith lured the girl to the park (pictured), which is right next to his Penshurst unit block
The girl immediately reported the alleged assault to police, who launched a manhunt before quickly arresting Smith at his Nelson Street unit block around 5pm.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, local residents said they were shocked by the arrest of their apparently ‘ordinary’ neighbour.
Although he was often seen roaming the local streets on his stroller, residents said the mason mostly kept to himself.
“I’m a security guard, so I’m late for work. I saw him driving the streets at 2am, 3am, 5am. He always wore sunglasses and a cap,” said one man, who wished to remain anonymous.
“He waved to say hello when he passed by, but he was cool. He never caused trouble.’
Residents said Smith had lived in the home — owned by his parents — since at least 2019, though he was noticeably absent for several months last year.
Billy Smith, 46, is taken into police custody on Monday after allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl
Smith lived in a housing block (pictured) adjacent to the children’s playground
The balcony of Smith’s unit faces the park where he allegedly assaulted the teenage girl
One neighbor said he thought Smith was unemployed because he saw him driving around so often, but another said he did some work as a bricklayer.
“Every morning a friend would come by to pick him up and they’d go to work together,” he said.
A photo released by NSW police on Tuesday shows Smith dressed in high visibility workwear being escorted from his home by officers in handcuffs.
He was taken to Kogarah Police Station where he was charged with aggravating sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 16, using a child over the age of 14 to make child abuse material and producing child abuse material.
He was also charged with violating a parole prohibition order, which ordered “not actively seek or remain in the company of children under the age of 18.”
Smith spent the night in custody and appeared before Sutherland’s local court on Tuesday, where he was formally denied bail.
He will remain behind bars until his next appearance in Downing Center local court on October 26.
Smith’s arrest has sparked outrage as the community demands answers as to why he was allowed to live near areas frequented by children. In the photo: Pole Depot Park