Alleged private schoolboy abusers return to boarding house
Families with children at Ballarat Grammar have been told this week to expect a 'staged re-integration' of the boys, believed to number up to 12, into the school's Dart House boarding block, with at least one family reacting immediately by removing their son from the school.
The move to return the boys, who had been staying at an off-campus house the school owns in the town and attending classes as day students, comes after Ballarat Grammar principal Adam Heath apologised last week to the school community for the impact of the scandal, pledging 'zero tolerance' for misconduct.
Loading
The year 11 and 12 students had been removed from Dart House after allegations surfaced in February of systemic assaults against younger boarders in the house, committed as part of a culture of punishment and hazing. Police were called in to investigate.
Two boys have been expelled after an investigation by the school, key staff members have stepped down and the state regulator, the Victorian Quality and Registration Authority, has placed Ballarat Grammar's boarding licence under review.
Heath told parents on Monday that Melbourne-based workplace conflict specialists, the Zalt Group, had been hired 'to facilitate a thorough and structured restorative process involving both the students who remained in the boarding house and those who were temporarily accommodated elsewhere'.
'The Zalt Group have advised that the students are ready to return safely and respectfully to their boarding community, and we will begin a supported, staged reintegration of these students back into the boarding house,' Heath wrote.
One parent, who asked not to be identified, told The Age that his son had been terrified at the prospect of the return of the seniors to Dart House. The family had decided to take the boy out of Ballarat Grammar altogether for a new school, the parent said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

News.com.au
8 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Seven times more likely': Unthinkable truth about women who kill
Australia and the rest of the world has been gripped by the infamous 'mushroom massacre' –which has seen Victoria native Erin Patterson found guilty of murdering three of her husband's relatives and severely injuring a fourth. On Monday, Patterson was sensationally found guilty of the murder of her father-in-law Don Patterson and mother-in-law Gail Patterson, as well of the murder of Heather Wilkson – her estranged husband's aunt – and the attempted murder of his uncle Ian Wilkinson. She had prepared a meal of individual portions of beef wellington which included a mushroom pate that contained fatal death cap mushrooms, which are so toxic that just one can kill a person. Now, Patterson joins a long list of women who have used poison as their murder weapon of choice, with research showing that women disproportionately use poison to kill compared to men. The mother-of-two – whose husband Simon Patterson had declined an invitation to the deadly luncheon and which was instead attended by his parents, aunt and uncle – had always maintained her innocence in the case, saying that she had inadvertently purchased the deadly mushrooms from an Asian grocer. The jury did not believe her and agreed with the prosecution's theory that Patterson foraged the death cap mushrooms close to her home and baked them into the beef wellington with the intention to kill. According to data from the 2012 Federal Bureau of Investigation Supplemental Homicide Report in the United States, women are seven times more likely than men to use poison as a murder weapon. Psychologist Irna Minauli told that women choosing to use poison more frequently than men was due to a range of factors. 'There is actually no difference between levels of aggression in men and women, it is just that the way aggression presents is different,' she explained. 'With men, they often act directly, whereas women may choose to act indirectly or through a third party.' She added that the weapons men and women use are also different, and that 'women often kill in ways that do not cause death immediately, such as poison.' Using poison can mean that the victim dies some time later, out of sight of the perpetrator who does not have to witness the direct result of their actions – allowing them to feel an 'emotional distance' from the killing, Minauli said. 'With poison, they don't have to see the impact of their actions directly, unlike when using other weapons where the consequences are more obvious and can involve blood and wounds.' According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Supplemental Homicide Report, firearms are actually the most popular weapon of choice in murder cases committed by both men and women. However, if you remove guns from the equation, men most frequently use beatings, blunt objects and strangulation to kill, whereas women use stabbing, asphyxiation, poison, fire, drowning, explosives and defenestration (throwing someone out of a window). Research has also shown that poisoning victims are usually younger (including children) or older – and young adults are much less likely to be killed by poison. It is also usually used in cases where the killer knows the victim, rather than against a complete stranger. Patterson's murders certainly fit this profile, even though she tried to deceive law enforcement and the jury by claiming that the poisonings had been a tragic accident after she inadvertently added poisonous mushrooms to her guests' food. Her case however is not as unusual as it sounds. In 2016, Australian permanent resident and Indonesian national Jessica Kurmala Wongso was accused of poisoning her friend Wayan Mirna Salihin in a coffee shop in an upscale mall in Indonesia's capital Jakarta. Even though she always maintained her innocence, she was accused by prosecutors of inviting Salihin to the coffee shop, before arriving early and ordering her a Vietnamese iced coffee, to which she then added the powerful poison cyanide. After sipping the drink, Salihin immediately collapsed in the coffee shop and was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital, although the defence unsuccessfully argued that small traces of cyanide found in Salihin's organs following a partial autopsy could have been the result of embalming fluid used to prepare her body for burial. Wongso was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and released last year having served just eight years and is still fighting to clear her name. In 2021, also in Indonesia, a jilted lover named Nani Apriliani Nurjaman sent a package of spiked satay to her former boyfriend Yohanes Tomi Astanto. The traditional Indonesian meal of meat cubes served on wooden skewers had also been laced with cyanide, although the ex-boyfriend refused to accept the suspicious package when it was delivered to his home by an online delivery driver. In a tragic twist of fate, the delivery driver brought the food home to his family rather than waste it, where his wife and 10-year-old son ate it – killing the child and making the mother extremely ill. In Hong Kong in 2003, investment banker Robert Kissel was killed by his wife, American expatriate Nancy Kissel, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder which took place at the couple's luxury apartment. Kissel laced her husband's strawberry milkshake with powerful sedatives (which are included in the FBI data under 'poison'), rendering him unconscious before bludgeoning him to death. She then rolled his dead body in a carpet and dumped him in a storeroom. At trial, Kissel claimed that her husband had been abusive to her and their two young children, and that she could not remember clubbing him to death with a metal statue after she poisoned him. Rahmi Fauzi, a lecturer and psychologist who specialises in clinical and forensic psychology at Lambung Mangkurat University told that poison is considered 'a neater' way to kill. 'Other weapons, such as knives or even guns, can require more power or strength, and there is a risk that the victim may not die and may be able to fight back and even overpower the perpetrator,' she said. 'Often, women want to commit murder without having to use physical strength or inflict direct injuries, even though poisoning can mean that the victim or victims are struggling for their lives for hours afterwards.' She added that the way men and women face and react to direct conflict is different, which in turn can influence the way they murder. 'Men, when faced with conflict or when fighting, get a spike in adrenaline which drives them to face and get rid of the threat. 'For women, self defence is not physical, but about how they can stay safe or get themselves out of an unsafe situation.' Fauzi also said that traditional roles of women as homemakers may make it easier for them to administer poison if they are in charge of regularly preparing meals, food and drinks for others and that they often use 'natural' poisons that are found in their environment. 'When we look at poisoning cases, we see that women tend to use poisons that are easily available to them, such as medicines like sleeping pills or other natural poisons like plants or vegetation.'

SBS Australia
9 hours ago
- SBS Australia
'I captured her misery': Courtroom artist on drawing killer Erin Patterson
For most of Australia, it's just a regular Monday. But two hours' drive from Melbourne, a courtroom in the small country town of Morwell is buzzing. Media from across the country have assembled, armed with notepads, ready to devour every detail of the day's proceedings. Among the sea of journalists, artist Anita Lester stands out. "Someone like me comes in and I'm like, sweating on the iPad ... frantically sketching," she says. The surrounding press pack has spent the last five weeks attending the triple murder trial of Erin Patterson , feeding audiences hungry for details about the now-infamous mushroom cook killer. Viewing rooms for members of the press have been set up as public interest in the case outstrips capacity at Latrobe Valley Law Courts. But Lester has a front row seat to proceedings. "This particular case has just captured the nation," she says. It's like a full-on folkloric story. On the afternoon of 2 June, Patterson is about to take the stand, and Lester has her iPad and digital pencil at the ready to immortalise the moment. "The adrenaline is so high when the suspect walks out onto the stand. You suddenly get mounted with so much pressure." Her drawing of Patterson will soon become synonymous with the Mushroom Trial, thrusting Lester into the spotlight, too. Erin Patterson was convicted of murdering her estranged husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson. She was also found guilty of attempting to kill Heather's husband, Ian. Source: AFP / Martin Keep Becoming a courtroom artist "I have a relationship with a newspaper that just invited me to do it on a whim," she says. Other publications took a liking to Lester's art and syndicated the drawings. "Then I started getting calls from all the different networks, and now I seem to be one of the first people [that] people call." The 39-year-old multidisciplinary artist has since drawn other high-profile figures, including gangland boss Tony Mokbel and alleged Easey Street murderer Perry Kouroumblis . Notorious gangland figure Tony Mokbel is among the other high-profile figures Lester has produced courtroom sketches of. Source: AAP / Anita Lester Cameras are banned from most Australian courtrooms to protect those on trial, along with witnesses and the jury. Media outlets commission artists to fill the visual void, continuing the centuries-old tradition of courtroom art. Lester had just two minutes to draw Patterson the first time she saw her in court, at Patterson's 2023 filing hearing, but there was more time when she took the stand in June. Capturing 'curmudgeoned' Patterson Recalling the moment Patterson stepped up, Lester says she just stared for a minute, taking a mental snapshot before putting pen to paper. "I just like, do the roughest, ugliest sketch you've ever seen, just to put things down," she says. Unlike those around her who are hungry for information, Lester tries to block out details that can be "quite interesting", "full-on", and "a little bit traumatising". It's like kind of a meditation. You have to try really hard not to listen to what is actually going on in the courtroom. After 10 minutes of drawing, the courtroom closes. Lester explains: "I run outside, I find the closest seat, I put on headphones and I just draw and finish the drawing, retaining the information that I've collected in those minutes." Two hours after getting the call to come into court, her drawing is on online news sites. When Lester first saw Patterson in court in 2023, she only had two minutes to draw her. Source: AAP / Anita Lester Lester is one of the first artists allowed to draw digitally in an Australian courtroom. Although she concedes digital art lacks some of the nuances of pastel and charcoal, she says they are "so impractical" to use. Instead, she customises digital brushes with a trail of "digital dust" to mimic physical art supplies. "The first time I was in court, there was someone who had this amazing little portable station, but I was looking at him half the time thinking, 'what a nightmare'." Instead of copying exactly what she sees, Lester focuses on getting the emotions of the subject. "If I'm being critical about my earlier drawings, I was fixating a lot on trying to get accurate representations of the person. "Perhaps why this particular drawing that I've done of Erin has been so visceral for people is because I captured her misery." While there are no hard and fast rules for courtroom art, Lester says she sticks to tradition, allowing some of her style to come through without being overly impressionistic and always prioritising getting a likeness of the subject. "I think part of the thing that people really like about courtroom art is there is a predictability to what you're looking at." She says court artists need to put their "journalist hat" on. "You are giving the people what they want. You're giving them this experience that you're having, but the experience of the story that is being told as well," she says. Distress was at the heart of Lester's courtroom experience with Patterson. "I was sitting there and she looked so curmudgeoned the whole time." Anita Lester focuses on capturing the emotions of the subjects of her courtroom sketches, rather than copying exactly what she sees. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop So Lester chose to exaggerate the emotions she saw on the stand. "You don't cheat the details," she says. I think you have to be as honest as you can. Lester's earlier court portraits have depicted subjects along with details of the surrounding courtroom, which she feels detracted from the emotion of the subject. So she decided to take a different approach to Patterson in June. "I just wanted to focus on her. She was so distressed this day in court, I actually felt a bit bad for her, if I'm being totally honest," Lester says. "I wanted to take away any distractions." Balancing storytelling and sensitivity Lester is often exposed to details hidden from the public, but the intimacy of the courtroom exposes something else, too. "I think what people don't realise when people are on trial [is that] they're terrified. They're being put under a microscope," she says. Even when people are the "guiltiest in the world", Lester says something sensitive is revealed in the courtroom setting. "When the lines are a bit blurred, you are privy to seeing something more vulnerable and almost childlike." Anita Lester is a multidisciplinary artist based in Melbourne. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop Lester says the weirdest part of the job is being noticed by the accused, often being stared at the whole time. But the whole experience of the Mushroom Trial has been surreal, with people contacting her daily about the case, including sending fan art. "That was just a tiny little snippet of my life, but now I'm intrinsically tied to this conversation," she says. "It's wild, it's two hours of my life [that] has become the thing that I am now associated with, which is so weird."

News.com.au
19 hours ago
- News.com.au
Troubled AFL star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan's car allegedly used in Melbourne drive-by
Troubled footy star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan has been questioned by police after the Western Bulldogs forward's car was allegedly used in a drive-by shooting in Melbourne. The 23-year-old has been cleared of any wrongdoing after 71-year-old grandfather Doug Lee was ambushed after returning to his home in Glen Iris, around 10km southeast of the Melbourne CBD. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Channel 9 has reported police are investigating and trying to ascertain who was driving Ugle-Hagan's 4WD vehicle after a number of shots were fired towards Lee on June 11. It's understood no charges have been laid over the shooting to date. is not suggesting Ugle-Hagan was involved in the shooting or any criminal activity. Ugle-Hagan is yet to play a game this season for the Bulldogs, taking time away from the club earlier in the year to deal with some highly publicised mental health issues. The former No. 1 AFL draft pick conceded on the Rip Through It podcast late last month he 'had to give his car to a mate so he couldn't drive it, I just didn't trust myself driving'. It has now allegedly been used in a crime and it left Lee understandably shocked when the incident took place. 'Atrocious. Atrocious,' Lee told Channel 9. 'I heard a shot, which was quite surprising. 'Looked up and saw a car approaching me very rapidly. 'I steeled myself for the collision and as they passed me, they fired two more shots.' Lee added that he felt the incident was likely a case of mistaken identity. 'Obviously very lucky. The size of the hole, I'm glad it didn't hit me,' he said. 'I'm fairly sure they weren't targeting me. Just maybe aggression, maybe arrogance.' Nine crime reporter Gillian Lantouris read a statement from the Bulldogs that stated the AFL club was aware of the incident and was 'satisfied Jamarra was not involved'. 'I understand (the Bulldogs) have been aware of this incident for quite some time,' Lantouris said. 'They have issued a statement – 'The club is satisfied that Jamarra was not involved in the incident and that he had not been in possession of the vehicle for some time before it occurred. Jamarra has fully co-operated with the subsequent police investigation'.' Incredibly, it is the second time one of Ugle-Hagan's vehicles has been in the spotlight in recent weeks. On June 23, the young forward reported on social media that what is understood to be a different car, a Toyota Ute, had been stolen, posting a photo of the vehicle. Ugle-Hagan spent considerable time away from the Bulldogs earlier this season and also attended a health retreat in northern NSW. He had returned to training at the club in recent weeks, but coach Luke Beveridge said late last month there is no timetable for Ugle-Hagan to return to the playing arena.