Western Australian author Craig Silvey has pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing and distributing child exploitation material.
Appearing in Fremantle Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning Silvey entered a guilty plea to two charges stemming from a raid police conducted on his home in January.
Two additional charges that alleged the author had created child exploitation images over a period of several months in 2022 were discontinued. Silvey remains on bail and did not speak to the awaiting media as he left court. He will return to court in July.
The author was celebrated for his award-winning novel Jasper Jones, which was adapted for the screen in 2017.
He is also known for his work Honeybee, a coming of age story from the point of view of a young trans person. The book was nominated for an Indie Book Award, and led to Silvey being invited to deliver the Isabelle Lake Memorial Lecture in 2021.
He also wrote a series of children’s books including Runt, which was also adapted for the screen. Following his arrest his books were removed from the school curriculum.
