Batavia Motor Inne owners expect demolition in early 2023 after only ‘recently’ finding out about rape case

Owners of the derelict Batavia Motor Inne say they are progressing towards demolition of the site taking place in early 2023. The directors of 54 Fitzgerald Pty Ltd, Joe Scaffidi — husband of ex-City of Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi — Anthony Scaffidi and Michael O’Sullivan say they only recently discovered about the shocking case of a 14-year-old girl raped at the unsecured site last year. The Inne was the scene of a shocking two-day ordeal in June 2021, during which a 14-year-old was repeatedly sexually attacked by Victorian man, James Robert Sbresni, who flew to WA and lied on his G2G pass after grooming the girl on Snapchat for months. When contacted by the Midwest Times, the directors said they had only recently been made aware of the issue and it occurred under the previous ownership of the property. They bought the property in September last year. “In the 12 months we have owned this site we have worked solidly to focus on future uses and opportunities,” they said. “Our focus is to bring new, positive commercial opportunities to the people of Geraldton.” The directors stated the incident was a criminal matter and was up to the police to comment further on specifics. They declined to comment on whether revelations of the case had created an urgency to demolish or secure the site, but said they had met with the City of Greater Geraldton on Monday morning to progress towards demolition. “We have again met with City of Geraldton admin to progress towards site demolition in early 2023,” they said. The City of Greater Geraldton declined to comment on this week’s meeting.