Ex-wife of jailed paedophile author Craig Silvey breaks her silence on his child exploitation crimes and the devastating toll on her family: 'He was not the man I thought he was'

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.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.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.His ex-wife Clare Testoni had separated from Silvey following his arrest but, following his sentencing, has issued a statement for the first time.'At the beginning of the year I suffered a great betrayal. The father of my children and my partner of thirteen years revealed himself not to be the man I thought he was.'While I was aware he was stressed and his mental health was suffering, I had no idea what was truly going on. I had seven-month-old twins, a three-year-old, I had been drowning in motherhood and in his growing absence.'I am sorry for those who have been hurt by Craig's crimes. I'm especially sorry for the victims. All children deserve to be safe and loved. That is what I hope to provide for my girls.'Since learning of his crimes I've had the hardest year of my life. With little children and no employment, this betrayal came at the time in my life when I was most financially and socially vulnerable. 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'It is hard to rebuild friendships after escaping a toxic relationship when you are the sole parent to three under four.'We separated as soon as I learned of his crimes, but he remains the father of our 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.'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.'I am not my previous relationship, and my girls are not their father. I ask that you take us on our own terms. We are secondary victims in this. We have suffered greatly.'Ms Testoni also claimed Silvey had stopped supporting her writing and prioritised his own career over hers. 'Craig has already been a shadow that occluded me at times in my career,' she said.'I am a creative myself, and a writer. Craig has already been a shadow that occluded me at times in my 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. This is an old story badly re-told again and again. Testoni said she hopes to tell a new story going forward 'I hope to tell a new story going forward. I hope. 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.'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.Silvey published a 9,000-word 'apology' on the same day as his sentencing, also on Substack.'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.'I am horrified and aghast that I have caused further suffering by contributing to this scourge.' 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 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. Silvey published a 9,000-word 'apology' on the same day as his sentencing'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.'Police raided the home Silvey 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'.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.'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.'Lifeline 13 11 14