Patrick Cronin’s father raised concerns about one punch killer’s school student talks months ago
THE Andrews Government is facing heat after it emerged the father of one-punch victim Patrick Cronin raised concerns about his son’s killer giving talks to school students three months ago.
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THE Andrews Government is facing heat after it emerged concerns were raised three months ago that a one punch killer was giving talks to school students.
Andrew Lee, who killed Patrick Cronin, 19, with a coward punch has been removed from the VCE Legal Studies program “effective immediately” after the Herald Sun revealed he was educating teens visiting Loddon prison.
Patrick’s father Matt Cronin confirmed on Thursday he first raised his concerns with the government at least three months ago, and was frustrated Lee had remained part of the Corrections Victoria program.
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“When we raised it they said there was nothing to be concerned about,” he told the Herald Sun on Thursday night.
“On the back of that we let it drop. The answer we got was no students in this area had been exposed to him.
“That might still be correct. But you have to ask the right question. He was meeting with kids.”
Mr Cronin had been troubled by reports that students at local school Eltham High may have been involved in the same program as the man who killed his son in 2016 and is currently appealing his sentence.
It was confirmed in Parliament on Thursday that a parent had flagged concerns over Lee’s involvement in the school program with a government MP, Eltham member Vicky Ward.
Answering questions, Corrections Minister Gayle Tierney said there had been rumours of Lee’s involvement “some months ago”.
“The fact of the matter is that we checked with the school and the prisoner that was mentioned was not involved in the visit that Eltham High took,” she said.
Mr Cronin said there were still questions to be answered.
“There’s something we’re still not being told,” he said.
“I want to understand the process that has gone on here. I want to know exactly how it works.”
Mr Cronin said he was pleased Lee was no longer a part of the program.
Premier Daniel Andrews apologised to the Cronin family and said Corrections Victoria needed to be “much more careful” in choosing prisoners to be involved in a program.
Mr Andrews’ son will be a Year 11 student next year and the Premier said he would not want him “being lectured to by someone who had killed a young person”.
He said the State Government was now taking “a very, very close look at how this program operates” after the Herald Sun’s revelations.
Corrections Victoria have been requested to provide urgent advice to the government on the eligibility of prisoners involved in the program, which has been running for almost 30 years.
Opposition Corrections spokesman Ed O’Donohue said the case was the second in a week where victims were not considered, with David Cassai’s killer also allowed out of jail to play country football.
“The views of the Cronin family as victims of crime should have been paramount and they should have been acted upon,” he said.