Jailed Patrick Cronin killer wins plum role teaching VCE students in prison
THE jailed one-punch thug who killed teen Patrick Cronin has been rolled out as a model prisoner to talk to schoolchildren who visit his prison as part of an education program.
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EXCLUSIVE: A COWARD-punch killer appealing against his eight-year jail term is giving talks to schoolchildren who visit his prison as part of an education program.
Andrew Lee, who killed teen Patrick Cronin in 2016, has been rolled out as a model prisoner to talk to VCE legal studies pupils.
The move has infuriated Patrick’s family. Patrick’s father, Matt Cronin, said on Wednesday: “He hasn’t even been in jail for 12 months.
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“What gives him the right to be able to talk to kids? He’s shown no contrition whatsoever.”
Lee was denied leave to appeal against his sentence in March, but is challenging the decision.
Mr Cronin, who said he had lost all faith in the system, said: “I think you’ve got to earn your right to get into one of these programs.”
Just days ago, it emerged that another one-punch killer, Dylan Closter, had been routinely allowed out of prison by Corrections Victoria on day leave, to play football.
Corrections Minister Gayle Tierney said on Wednesday night she had requested “urgent advice” from Corrections Victoria about the eligibility of prisoners taking part in the schools program.
“The rights of victims must be central to any decisions or programs where prisoners interact with the public,” she said.
But Corrections Victoria’s Courtney Crane defended Lee’s involvement, saying all criminals in the program had been vetted and approved by prison management.
Prisoners accepted into the program had to be remorseful, low-security, open to taking questions, and have a story that could serve as a cautionary tale, Ms Crane said.
Neither the Cronins, nor the family of Closter’s victim, David Cassai, were notified of initiatives involving the killers.
Mr Cronin said: “It astounds me we weren’t notified. We should be asked how we feel about the killer sitting and speaking to kids.
“There could well be kids that would have known Pat. It’s not acceptable. Is he the sort of guy you really want talking to kids? I wouldn’t have thought so,” he said.
Eltham High School was so concerned about its pupils coming face to face with the man who killed Patrick, a local, that it asked authorities to ensure Lee did not take part in any program involving them.
Principal Vincent Sicari said staff called Barwon and Loddon prisons before the school’s planned visit as part of the VCE Legal Studies program.
The visits were organised to give students an insight into the corrections system, to support their study on sanctions and sentencing, and focus on the objectives of punishment and incarceration, he said.
“Prior to our year 11 students visiting Loddon Prison, we requested that Andrew Lee not be part of the program involving our students,” Mr Sicari said.
“I am confident that our students were not exposed to Andrew Lee on this visit.”
Mr Sicari said that after the excursion the teacher in charge requested of the prison that Lee “not be part of the program whenever Eltham High School students visit Loddon prison in the future”.
Eltham Liberal candidate Nick McGowan said Mr Cronin had raised concerns about Lee’s involvement in the school program with him.
“It is disgusting the Andrews Government has failed to tell the Cronin family their son’s killer is now ‘educating’ schoolchildren,” he said.
“It’s truly appalling and heartbreaking. It has to change. Victims’ families have no rights in Victoria.”
Ms Crane said staff would consider where prisoners and their victims lived and the location of their crimes in assessing whether there were pupils of particular schools to which they should not be assigned.
“Prison visits give school groups an insight into the realities of life in prison and are a powerful way to help young people understand the life-altering consequences of involvement in crime,” she said.
“Prisoners are able to speak to students about the devastating impact even a single bad decision can have for themselves and for their victims. These are not role models, but people whose poor choices had very real consequences that young people can learn from.”
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