Author Craig Silvey has published a 9,000-word 'apology' after pleading guilty to child exploitation offences, but the essay has been criticised by child protection advocates after less than 100 words address the victims.
The 44-year-old, best known for writing the novels Jasper Jones and Runt, has been sentenced to seven months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to distributing and possessing child exploitation material.
He was found with numerous sexually explicit photos and videos of children and adults on his laptop and mobile phone when police raided his Fremantle home, the WA District Court heard.
On Monday, the day of his sentencing, the father-of-three published an essay on Substack titled 'My Apology'.
'My apologies are as extensive as they are sincere. I have betrayed the trust of many, many thousands of people who have honoured me with kindness and support over many, many years,' he said.
'For many who are familiar with me and my work, reactions have included confusion, sadness, shock, dismay, disgust, concern and disappointment. I understand this response, because I share it, too.'
Only about 41 words of the essay addressed the children depicted in the material, which Silvey admitted to distributing and possessing.
'I want to acknowledge that my engagement with this material is reprehensible and indefensible. It is re-traumatising to victims, and perpetuates a cycle of harm,' he said.
Craig Silvey (pictured on Monday) was sentenced to seven months' imprisonment in the WA District Court
The best-selling novelist has since published a 9,000-word essay titled 'My Apology'
'I am horrified and aghast that I have caused further suffering by contributing to this scourge.'
Chief executive of child protection charity Bravehearts, Alison Geale, said Silvey's apology failed to adequately address the children harmed through the material.
'It begins and ends with him, even in the title. It is a lot about his regret,' she told ABC News.
'He speaks in euphemisms. He doesn't name the actual crime, he minimises that. The children whose images that he accessed... are the victims, not Mr Silvey.'
Silvey wrote about his fractured relationship with his father, whom he described as 'emotionally distant', and how his world 'collapsed' when his older brother, Bret Silvey, was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for defrauding investors.
He said more broadly that he had carried a history of 'trauma, shame and anxiety' through most of his life and suffered a 'crisis of mental health and a destructive, despairing breakdown' before he offended.
'I am shattered that my private conduct has inspired public alarm,' he said.
'I am particularly heartbroken to have elicited concern amongst parents and guardians, and members of the organisations who kindly extended those invitations. I offer my sincerest apologies to you all.'
Silvey (pictured with estranged partner Clare) wrote that his offending followed a traumatic childhood, family estrangement, mental health struggles and what he described as a 'destructive, despairing breakdown'
Silvey's apology does not appropriately address the young victims exploited, according to Bravehearts CEO Alison Geale
Silvey added: 'I am painfully aware of the possible assumption that my offence must have been informed by a horrible and inappropriate attraction, and that my behaviour must then be connected to sinister and ulterior motivations. I assure you this is not the case at all.'
Police raided the home he shared with his wife and three young daughters in January and found he had been 'actively engaging' with child abusers online.
Court documents state he chatted with people discussing child abuse on adult websites using the alias 'Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy', telling them he was a 'Fremantle guy' with 'very similar interests'.
The pair moved to an encrypted messaging app, where he said he was 'extremely open-minded and obsessed with taboos' and preferred boys aged five-plus before adding that 'eight was the perfect age'.
'I want to make out with little ones,' the author said in one message.
'I haven't had any experience, I'm sad to say. I'm a bit obsessed.'
In sentencing, Judge Hayley Cormann said that his crimes were repulsive and degrading and the consequences of his abuse would have a long-lasting impact on his victims.
'This offending involves children, and it is destructive, and it is devastating. Your communication was open, it was assertive, and it was unmistakable,' she said.
Most of Craig Silvey's titles have since been removed from reading lists across the country
'You did this as a means to engage with others, and ultimately as a means to sexually satisfy yourself as part of your fantasies.
'You acknowledge you have devastated and betrayed the trust of thousands of people, and you have let an entire community down.
'For the victims of this type of offending, it is real, and they are traumatised.'
Silvey pleaded guilty in January following his arrest.
He is best known for his 2009 coming-of-age novel Jasper Jones, which was adapted into a feature film and several stage productions.
Other popular books include Rhubarb, Honeybee, which won the Australian Indie Book Award in 2021, and the children's novel Runt, which was also adapted into a film.
Publishers Allen & Unwin and Fremantle Press, which released Rhubarb, stopped promoting his books after Silvey was charged and most of his titles were removed from reading lists across the country.
Two charges of producing and possessing further child exploitation material were dropped in May.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
Lifeline 13 11 14
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
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