Craig Silvey's online apology fails to address victims, advocates say

An apology published online by disgraced author Craig Silvey in the wake of his sentencing for child sex offences fails to address the victims of his crimes, a leading child protection organisation says.WARNING: The following story contains details some readers may find distressing.Silvey was sentenced on Monday to seven months' prison for possessing and distributing images and videos of prepubescent children being sexually abused.In a 9,000-word essay called "My Apology" published after his sentencing, Silvey explained what led to his offending.It starts with him describing how difficult it was for him to write about his offences, and ends with his belief in redemption and hope.'Begins and ends with him'Bravehearts CEO Alison Geale said Silvey's apology was more about him than the victim-survivors at the centre of his crime."It begins and ends with him, even in the title," she said."I don't think Mr Silvey has appropriately addressed the victims of the crime that he committed … but there is an exhaustive amount of material about Mr Silvey's plans for redemption."The once acclaimed author's books were removed from school curricula around Australia after police first laid charges in January, and theatre adaptations were also halted.WA Creative Industries Minister Simone McGurk said she doubted Silvey's literature would regain popularity after his offending."Craig Silvey has lost any sort of credibility at all," she said.Simone McGurk says Silvey has lost all credibility. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)"His books were loved and they were very popular, but knowing that this person who wrote them is now guilty of these sorts of offences is completely unacceptable."'Horrified and aghast'Silvey dedicated 41 words in his letter to the children in the explicit images and videos he accessed and shared."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."I am horrified and aghast that I have caused further suffering by contributing to this scourge."Silvey said he had blindsided friends and family, and betrayed the trust of thousands who supported him and his work."I am guilty of these offences. I am appalled and mortified by my conduct, and I am deeply, profoundly sorry," he said.Silvey wrote that he was "appalled and mortified" by his own conduct. (ABC News: David Weber)The 44-year-old then preludes the next 8,000 words — a "comprehensive explanation" for his behaviour — by saying he took "full responsibility" for his actions, and was not intending to minimise his conduct but provide "context and clarity".Family ruptureSilvey wrote that he experienced "emotional neglect, violence and sexual abuse" as a child, and as an adult struggled with the pressures of his fame and reputation.He also detailed family ruptures, including losing his life savings and falling into debt after entrusting his financial affairs to his brother, who was jailed last year for 12 years for fraud, and a "deeply painful betrayal involving my father".Silvey wrote that he struggled with fame and family issues, but the judge found those factors did not cause his offending. (Instagram: Craig Silvey)But Judge Cormann did not accept those pressures caused Silvey's offending, and said his psychological health "isn't causative of the offences that you have committed".Ms Geale said the letter was not a "true apology"."It is a lot about his regret. He speaks in euphemisms. He doesn't name the actual crime, he minimises that," she said."The children whose images that he accessed ... are the victims, not Mr Silvey."Phil Doorgachurn, the interim CEO of the National Centre — a support organisation established out of the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse — said Silvey's letter should have put the victims at the centre."Even the word 'material', sometimes people can forget and community can forget what that means," he said."That's actually a child, or a victim-survivor, who's at the centre of that."'Repulsive, degrading, offensive'Silvey's defence lawyer had told the court he did not have a specific sexual attraction to children — a point Silvey alludes to in his letter.Rather, he said he sought out increasingly depraved material in order to "numb himself", the court heard.But District Court Judge Hayley Cormann dismissed that claim in her sentencing remarks on Monday."That material that you possessed and those communications in which you engaged, which I have read, they are repulsive and they are degrading and they are offensive," she said."Yet you spoke about those things, about your desires and that abuse of children persistently in those chats."The court heard Silvey initiated conversations about child exploitation, and described in explicit detail how he wanted to abuse them.Judge Cormann said Silvey's fantasies perpetuated harm against real children."The world you went into to escape from something, you say, was a type of roleplay, and intended to be only ever in an online world or a fantasy world," she said."These children, the victims of this type of offending, they are real and they are traumatised."She said Silvey's personal circumstances were not an excuse for his behaviour, but did "accept that you take full responsibility for your offending and that you are appalled and you are mortified by your own conduct".