Craig Silvey: Award-winning author of Jasper Jones now accused of producing child abuse material

An award-winning West Australian writer has been charged with further child exploitation offences, including one count of allegedly producing vile material. Craig Nicolas Silvey, 43, who wrote young adult novels Jasper Jones and Rhuburb, has been slapped with two additional charges of producing and possessing child exploitation material. Those alleged offences are on top of two charges laid in January for possessing and distributing child exploitation material. A second person, a woman aged 68 from Perth’s northern suburbs, has also been charged as part of an ongoing police investigation into Mr Silvey’s online activities. Police say forensic analysis of seized electronic devices allegedly identified the woman as producing and distributing child exploitation material online with Mr Silvey. The Marangaroo woman was arrested on February 18 with two counts of producing and one count of distributing child exploitation material and three counts of failing to comply with reporting obligations. She was remanded in custody and is set to appear in Joondalup Magistrates Court on April 2. Police allege they caught Mr Silvey communicating with child exploitation offenders online when they raided his Fremantle home before his arrest in January. The father-of-three is best known for his 2009 coming-of-age novel Jasper Jones, which is considered a modern Australian classic and was aimed at adults and young readers. The global hit won the Australian Book Industry’s Book of the Year Award and has been adapted for film and various stage productions. Silvey has also been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the International Dublin Literary Award, His most recent novel Runt and the Diabolical Dognapping was published by Allen & Unwin in September. Another of his books is Honeybee won the Australian Indie Book Award in 2021. Most of his works were purged from reading lists across the nation after he was charged. Allen & Unwin and Fremantle Press, which published Rhubarb, have stopped promoting his books. At Fremantle Magistrates Court on Monday, his lawyer Natalia Tasic said they were in discussions with the investigating officer about all of the charges including allegations in relation to “written material”. Magistrate Thomas Hall adjourned the case to May 5 and granted Mr Silvey bail on the same conditions as he was given for the original charges. 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)