Cameron McCracken fronts court over Sacre Coeur school bus fire

A Hughesdale man prowled around Sacre Coeur Catholic Girls’ School before setting its $200,000 bus on fire.

Cameron McCracken lit the fire through the driver's side of the Sacre Coeur Catholic Girls School bus which was a write-off.

A Hughesdale man who completely destroyed a private school bus by setting it on fire has copped a short term prison sentence.

Cameron McCracken, 44, torched a Sacre Coeur Catholic Girls’ School bus about 4.40pm on Saturday, May 13, 2023 after wandering around the campus grounds for about 90 minutes.

He pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in December to a charge of arson and was sentenced by the County Court last week to eight months imprisonment and 20 months community corrections order upon release from jail.

Court documents show McCracken peered into various classroom windows and looked around the school grounds before walking towards two buses parked near the school hall.

The Sacre Coeur Catholic Girls School bus was a write-off after a fire lit by Cameron McCracken.

He lit the fire in one of the buses through a smashed window on the driver’s side.

The window had been broken prior to his arrival.

Two minutes after lighting the fire, he was seen walking away from the bus with a lit cigarette in his mouth and smoke emitting from the vehicle.

A witness at a nearby property rang triple-0, fearing the fire may threaten a nearby building.

The bus, purchased for $199,287, was a write-off.

In an interview at Oakleigh police station on June 5, 2023, McCracken told police he was on the school grounds as he was “cutting through” on his way to Malvern.

McCracken admitted the person shown in the CCTV footage was him but denied setting fire to the bus.

When asked why he had been looking at the smoke emitting from the bus, he told investigators that he didn’t know what they were talking about.