The high cost of love: Baby killer Keli Lane’s longtime boyfriend loses his job
Patrick Cogan, 50, was walked from the grounds of St Pius X College at Chatswood last month under a cloud of secrecy, after teaching at the school for almost 30 years.
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The loyal lover of baby killer Keli Lane has been stood down from his school teacher job over his association with the high-profile prisoner.
Patrick Cogan, 50, was walked from the grounds of St Pius X College at Chatswood last month under a cloud of secrecy, after teaching at the school for almost 30 years.
Students, staff and parents at the north shore Catholic school have been given no information as to the whereabouts of the popular PE teacher.
But The Daily Telegraph can reveal Mr Cogan was suspended over his relationship with Lane, and for being an “advocate” for her while she has been serving an 18-year prison term for murdering her baby daughter Tegan in 1996.
Mr Cogan has lodged a dispute with the Fair Work Commission, where the matter was listed on Wednesday for a confidential discussion, before being adjourned until July.
His lawyer John Laxon did not return calls, while a spokeswoman for the school said it could not discuss the matter.
“Fair Work matters are required to be treated as highly confidential by all involved, so we are unable to speak to the nature of that,” the school spokeswoman said.
Mr Cogan, who was dating the water polo player and Olympic hopeful back in 2010 when she was charged with murdering her baby, has maintained his support of Lane, even for the last 15 years while she has been behind bars.
On Sunday, the pair was spotted walking together near Mr Cogan’s northern beaches home, while Lane was on a prison-approved weekend release outing.
It was one of the few times Lane has been seen since she was found guilty of Tegan’s murder after a high-profile four month trial in 2010.
The 50-year-old was sporting an ankle monitoring bracelet on her right leg, and kept a close grip of Mr Cogan as they walked along the beach front at Dee Why.
Lane was eligible for parole in May last year, but under the state’s “No body, No parole” legislation, her release was denied. The NSW Parole Authority found she had not satisfactorily cooperated with police to identify the location of Tegan’s remains.
But Lane has always maintained her innocence and denied killing the child, insisting she gave the baby girl to her biological father just two days after she was born at Auburn Hospital.
Extensive police investigations across the country and even internationally have failed to locate that man, with whom Lane says she had a brief affair and fell pregnant, or Tegan.
Without parole, Lane will not be released until her sentence ends in December 2028.
Asked about Lane’s weekend outing, Corrective Services NSW said they have an obligation to prepare prisoners for release and reintegration into the community, through short periods of external leave.
“Offenders are risk-assessed before being granted external leave and approval is determined on a case-by-case basis,” a Corrective Services NSW Spokeswoman said.
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Originally published as The high cost of love: Baby killer Keli Lane’s longtime boyfriend loses his job
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