The ex-wife of paedophile Craig Silvey has described 'the hardest year of my life' after discovering his child exploitation crimes while caring for baby twins and a toddler.
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wife → describe → twins
Silvey, 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.
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Silvey → know → 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.
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Court → find → home
His ex-wife Clare Testoni had separated from Silvey following his arrest but, following his sentencing, has issued a statement for the first time.
'
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wife → separate → time
At the beginning of the year I suffered a great betrayal.
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I → suffer → betrayal
The father of my children and my partner of thirteen years revealed himself not to be the man I thought he was.
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he → reveal → years
'While I was aware he was stressed and his mental health was suffering, I had no idea what was truly going on.
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what → suffer → idea
I had seven-month-old twins, a three-year-old, I had been drowning in motherhood and in his growing absence.
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I → have → absence
I am sorry for those who have been hurt by Craig's crimes.
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who → hurt → crimes
All children deserve to be safe and loved.
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children → deserve → ?
That is what I hope to provide for my girls.
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I → hope → girls
Since learning of his crimes I've had the hardest year of my life.
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I → learn → life
With little children and no employment, this betrayal came at the time in my life when I was most financially and socially vulnerable.
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I → come → life
The estranged wife of disgraced author Craig Silvey has addressed his conviction for child exploitation offences
Silvey has been sentenced to seven months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to distributing and possessing child exploitation material
'
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Silvey → disgrace → material
It is hard to rebuild friendships after escaping a toxic relationship when you are the sole parent to three under four.
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you → rebuild → four
We separated as soon as I learned of his crimes, but he remains the father of our children.
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he → separate → children
Reconciling how he will be in their lives is an ongoing project that I don't think anyone else can understand until it happens to them.
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it → reconcile → them
She also highlighted that she and her daughters, Matilda, 3, and 11-month-old twins Hazel and Stella, are 'secondary victims' of Silvey's offences.
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she → highlight → offences
I ask that you take us on our own terms.
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you → ask → terms
We have suffered greatly.'
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We → suffer → ?
Ms Testoni also claimed Silvey had stopped supporting her writing and prioritised his own career over hers.
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Silvey → claim → hers
'Craig has already been a shadow that occluded me at times in my career,' she said.
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she → occlude → career
Craig has already been a shadow that occluded me at times in my career.
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that → occlude → career
He supported many of my endeavours with enthusiasm but in the last six years he had stopped reading my work when I shared it with him, discouraged me from continuing my PhD when we had our first child, and generally prioritised his own more lucrative career over mine.
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we → support → mine
This is an old story badly re-told again and again.
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This → re → ?
Testoni said she hopes to tell a new story going forward
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she → say → story
I hope to tell a new story going forward.
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I → hope → story
I hope.
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I → hope → ?
I hope.'
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I → hope → ?
The Daily Mail first reported in March that Ms Testoni had left the couple's Fremantle home in Western Australia and moved into her mother Lynne's $4million Sydney townhouse with their three children.
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Testoni → report → children
'They have all been blindsided by the allegations and Clare's entire life is just spiralling as she tries to come to terms with everything,' a close friend of the family said at the time.
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friend → blindside → time
Ms Testoni, who is a writer and puppeteer, was photographed with her twins before later catching a train to nearby Newtown.
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who → photograph → Newtown
That was where she first met Silvey in 2010 at the Better Read Than Dead bookshop when he was making a promotional appearance for Jasper Jones.
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he → meet → Jones
Silvey left for London soon after but the pair stayed in touch by email before starting a romantic relationship on his return.
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pair → leave → return
In 2015, Clare moved to Perth to be with him.
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Clare → move → him
The author had previously shunned long-term relationships to prioritise his writing, he later revealed in media interviews, but said he changed his mind after meeting Clare.
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he → shun → Clare
He first spoke publicly about their relationship in 2020, when he also allowed a journalist to see his writing desk in the couple's bedroom.
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journalist → speak → bedroom
As both their careers grew, the pair were described by observers as a 'formidable couple'.
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pair → grow → couple
Ms Testoni also reflected on her relationship with her former husband, describing herself as 'escaping a toxic relationship'
The Daily Mail first reported in March that Ms Testoni had left the couple's Fremantle home in Western Australia and moved into her mother Lynne's $4million Sydney townhouse with their three children
Silvey published a 9,000-word 'apology' on the same day as his sentencing, also on Substack.
'My apologies are
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apologies → reflect → Substack
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.
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he → betray → years
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
