Best-selling Australian children's author Craig Silvey admits to possessing and distributing child exploitation material - as judge allows his bail to be extended

By CHARLOTTE KARP, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 04:37, 5 May 2026 | Updated: 04:59, 5 May 2026 Renowned children's author Craig Silvey has pleaded guilty to child exploitation offences, as his bail is extended. The children's author, 43 - best known for writing national hits Jasper Jones and Runt - appeared in Fremantle Magistrate's Court, WA, on Tuesday and confessed to one count each of possessing and distributing child exploitation material. Two additional charges of possessing and producing child exploitation material were dismissed. When asked by Magistrate Thomas Hall how he would like to plead, Silvey said: 'Guilty, your honour.'  The offences involve photographs and took place between January 7 and 9. Prosecutors previously said Silvey, who has three young daughters, took photos of himself inside his home office. Police raided the home he shared with his wife and three young daughters in January and found him 'actively engaging' with child abusers online. Court documents say he chatted with other paedophiles on adult sites using the alias 'Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy', telling them he was a 'Fremantle guy' with 'very similar interests'. Craig Silvey is pictured reporting for bail in Freemantle, WA, in February Silvey's hits include Jasper Jones, Honeybee and Runt. Many booksellers have pulled his novels from the shelves in the wake of the allegations  Silvey initially refused to cooperate with the investigation and would not let police access his phone and laptop. His bail was continued until his sentencing on July 3. In February, a magistrate granted Silvey's request to only report to Fremantle Police Station twice a week, rather than three times a week. Restrictions on his internet access were also relaxed, giving him access to social media in order to disable his social media profiles - which now harbours a number of unfavourable comments. However, the magistrate rejected a request for Silvey to have his phone back in order to delete the negative comments, telling the celebrated writer: 'You don't need to go in to tidy it up.' The magistrate further rejected complaints by Silvey's lawyer about a media presence outside his mother's house, where he currently resides. 'That's just an unfortunate consequence of his profile,' the magistrate said. 'The object was not to humiliate him.' Silvey was initially unable to meet the bail requirements, which included both a $100,000 surety and a $100,000 personal undertaking, but he quickly found the money.  Bail conditions also prevent Silvey from leaving WA or engage in any work involving children. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.