SHOCKED commuters expressed outrage and fear yesterday over the alleged brutal lunchtime rape of a teenage girl at one of Sydney’s busiest railway stations.
The 17-year-old was travelling alone when she was allegedly dragged off a Northern Line train, bundled into a grubby toilet block at Strathfield and assaulted for 24 minutes on Wednesday afternoon.
The alleged rapist, Ben Kooy, 34, was arrested by police moments after the assault was reported and they reviewed platform CCTV footage of the incident.Â
 Charged with sexual intercourse without consent, Kooy didn’t apply for bail at Burwood Local Court yesterday
Police described the alleged rape of the 17-year-old on Wednesday as “brazen” but praised the fast response of station staff and police, which led to a quick arrest.
The girl was on a train on the Northern Line heading from Redfern towards Hornsby, via Strathfield when Kooy, 34, allegedly struck up a conversation with her at around 12.48pm.
Just after 1pm Kooy allegedly forced the girl off the Waratah train, which contained 64 CCTV cameras, on to Platform 6 at Strathfield and into a disabled toilet cubicle in the underground pedestrian concourse.
The attack led to calls for greater security on Sydney’s trains and stations, with the main rail union claiming there are not enough platform staff to ensure passenger safety.
Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian has been criticised for getting rid of 600 transit officers and replacing them with 400 police officers in the newly formed NSW Police Transport Command in 2012.
When the transit officers were operating they were assisted by 300 general duties police officers’ who spent parts of their shifts patrolling public transport.
Source:Â Daily Telegraph