History
Cronin was born in Edinburgh, the son of Michael Cronin (of Limerick, Ireland) and Jeanette Cronin (of East Lothian, Scotland). Cronin's early years were marked with frequent moves between East Lothian, Limerick, and the U.S. (where the elder Cronin was a member of the U.S. Army). In 1978, the Cronins moved back to East Lothian to care for Jeanette's father, who was ill. It was about this time they discovered that Cronin was in dire need of assistance.
By the age of three, he was already difficult for his parents to control, smashing lightbulbs and breaking various things in the home. At age five, he was enrolled in a private school, but was expelled shortly thereafter for disruptive behavior, including overturning desks, urinating on the floor and attacking teachers.
The remainder of his school years were said by Cronin to be filled with repeated difficulties; the exception to this pattern was between the ages six to eight, where he was educated by nuns at St. Margaret's convent in Edinburgh, where he developed a deep respect for the nuns. He went through several schools, where he built up a record for repeat offenses at the schools, from theft and assault to openly urinating and defaecating on school property.
Cronin finally obtained four O-grades at a boarding school in Newton Stewart in 1989. It was shortly after leaving the school that he committed his first criminal act, sexually assaulting a 14-year-old female classmate for which he would serve a three-month sentence.
Read more about this topic: John Cronin (convict)
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