Already and this is the Daily This is the Daily.
Ohs oh, now it makes sense. Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Thursday, the fifteenth of January. I'm Emma Gillespie, I'm Billy fitz Simon's books by popular Australian author Craig Sylvie have been pulled from shelves in Western Australian schools after the forty three year old author
was charged with child exploitation. Several of Sylvie's books, including Runt and Jasper Jones, are studied by students in schools around the country, but following a raid on his home on Monday, the WA Education Minister has ordered state schools not to use texts by the author in classrooms this year while the allegations against him are investigated. Today we'll explain who Craig Sylvie is, the charges against him, and how schools are respect Before we get into it, just
a heads up that today's episode discusses distressing themes. Listener discretion is advised.
Emma, Do you want to start by just explaining who Craig Sylvie is.
Yeah, he is one of Australia's most prominent authors. If you haven't heard of him. There is a good chance you've read one of his books, or heard of one of his books, or watched it in a film adaptation. So we're talking about critically acclaimed titles like Rhubarb, Runt, Jasper Jones and Honeybee. Craig Sylvie has won multiple awards
for those books, both here in Australia and overseas. And his book Runt was turned into a movie just in twenty twenty four of the same name, and his two thousand and nine book Jasper Jones was also made into a film and stage production.
He is such a popular author in Australia. A few of us in the office or study Jasper Jones at school. Yeah, I know we'll get into because it is a very popular book in the education system.
Absolutely.
And so the reason we're talking about him is because he was arrested this week.
So what was he arrested for.
Yeah, On Tuesday afternoon we learned from WA Police that a forty three year old man had been arrested in Fremantle on Monday. We now know that man is the author Craig Sylvie. During a raid of his home on Monday, police alleged Sylvie was caught engaging with child exploitation offenders online.
And so just to be clear, police are saying that when they raided his home, he was mid some form of child exploitation. So he was kind of their saying, allegedly caught in the act.
Yeah, that is what the allegations say at the moment. In a statement, WA Police said that he was immediately arrested and his electronic devices were seized. Sylvie was allegedly talking to someone online and during that conversation he expressed a sexual interest in children, according to police. Investigators also
claim that there was evidence of image sharing in that conversation. So, following the raid on his home, Sylvie was charged with possessing and distributing child exploitation material between January seven and January nine.
So this all.
Relates to child exploitation material. Do you want to just explain what that means?
Yes, So, in Western Australia, where Sylvie was arrested and where he'll face court, child exploitation material refers to any material, including images, video, writings, or data, that depicts or describes a person who is under sixteen in a sexual context,
or being subjected to abuse or cruelty. So again, there is a lot we don't know about the specifics of the charges against Sylvie, but he's been charged with distributing and possessing this kind of material distribution is a more serious charge.
It should be noted.
Okay, So he was arrested and charged earlier this week. When this story first broke, there was a lot that we didn't know, but now there's been more time we have learnt a little bit more about these allegations in the days since.
Right, Yes, so we know now that Sylvie appeared in the Fremantle Magistrates Court on Tuesday. No police were entered during that hearing, but the ABC did have a reporter inside the courtroom at the time and according to their report, the police prosecutor told the court that Sylvie was not
cooperating with investigators. Police are alleging the author refused to grant detective's access to his devices, so that included his mobile phone and computer, and as a result of this alleged non compliance, police opposed bail for Sylvie, so they told the court they did not believe that he should be released from police custody. The prosecutor, again, according to the ABC, said Sylvie quote may hinder the investigation and
describe him as a flight risk. Now that means police are concerned that if he's released from custody, he might flee the state or the country as he awaits further proceedings.
Which would be illegal. Yes, so was Sylvie in the end granted bail.
He actually was granted bail despite the wishes of the police prosecutors. But interestingly, he did spend Tuesday night in police custody after being granted bail, and that was because he didn't meet his bail conditions. Sylvie was granted bail with something called a surety as well as a personal undertaking.
Now that means he was ordered to put forward one hundred thousand dollars of his own money to secure bail, but he also needed a one hundred thousand dollars surety, meaning someone else needed to put forward money, basically vouching for Sylvie. Now, the court defines this surety as a person who enters into a legally enforceable agreement to forfeit a specific amount of money, in this case one hundred grand if the person they are standing surety for in
this case, Sylvie fails to appear at court. So if for whatever reason the accused breaches bail conditions, they leave the state or country, they miss a hearing, that surety amount gets forfeited. Now, at the time of recording, it's not clear if Sylvie is still in custody, but we know that he could not meet those conditions on Tuesday night, got it okay?
And you mentioned that we don't yet know how Sylvie will plead to these charges. Sometimes in these cases we would hear from a lawyer on whether or not they are.
Claiming to be innocent or not. We haven't heard anything right.
At the time of recording. That's right, we haven't heard anything. We don't know how Sylvie will plead, And of course it should be noted this is an ongoing investigation and Sylvie does have a legal right to presumed innocence and a fair trial. That means that the prosecution must prove the charges against him beyond reasonable doubt. That will matter if he pleads not guilty. It'll be a different situation if he pleads guilty.
And what I said before about many of his books are very popular in Australia's education system, and I know the WA Department of Education has weighed in on Sylvie's arrest.
What did they say?
Yeah, this is a really interesting aspect of this story, and quite an unusual one. The core texts or recommended texts that students study in high schools and primary schools across the country is determined on a state by state basis, but in Wa at least we do know that Sylvie's books are included in the curriculums of some of its
subjects for some students. Now, the Daily Os did reach out to the Education Minister there, Sabine Winton, and she called the nature of the allegations against Sylvie deeply concerning. Wynton confirmed that Jasper Jones and Rubab, two books by Craig Sylvie that are included in a list of texts that students might study in Year eleven and twelve literature or in general English courses, that they would be removed
this year for study. So in light of the charges against the Winton has asked the Department of Education to quote ensure that schools cease using texts by Craig Sylvie for the twenty twenty six school year while the allegations are under investigation. Now there are some Year twelve students in Wa who may have already studied Sylvie's books in
previous years for literature studies. The Education Minister confirmed they will not be penalized if they refer to those texts in their exams later this year.
Do we know if any other states will follow suit? Well?
I did look into this on Wednesday morning and Runt, which is a very famous book by Craig Sylvie, was included as a Level four English Core text in Victoria. But when I checked the list again a few hours later on Wednesday afternoon, Runt had actually been removed from that document. So I reached out to the Victorian Department of Education and a spokesperson told TDA that Sylvie's texts have been removed from the Victorian Lessons plans and are
not on any VCE English or literature lists. So VCE is the year eleven and twelve program for school leavers in Victoria. The spokesperson also said that Sylvie's books quote will not feature in the twenty twenty six Premieres Reading Challenge.
Okay, so what are the next steps here? I presume there's a trial that will happen.
Well, Sylvie is scheduled to appear in court next on the tenth of February, so we've got to wait a couple more weeks till we learn more about the future of this case. We have heard from his publisher, Alan and Aunwin. It said it was aware of the allegations, which are called deeply distressing, and said the publishing house would pause promotional activity of Sylvie's work while the legal
process takes its course. I did have a quick browse online across a few major book retailers, so some retailers, including Dimicks and QBD Books have actually removed Sylvie's titles from their websites now. In terms of the penalties that Sylvie's facing for these child exploitations chargers in wa Specifically, a person found guilty of possession of child exploitation material could face seven to ten years behind bars, and distributing
child exploitation material carries a penalty of ten years jail time. Sylvie, we know is facing two counts, so that could mean a longer penalty or that those sentences are stacked if he is found guilty, and the magistrate who granted him bail did say that imprisonment is a likely outcome, but investigations are continuing. We will continue to keep you guys updated as we learn more about this case.
Yeah, a very disturbing case. I mean, I've read so many of his books and it's something that you just never expect to read about such a popular author.
Emma, thank you for taking us through that.
Thank you, Billy, and thank you for listening to today's episode. If it has raised any issues with you, help is available. You can call Lifeline on thirteen eleven fourteen or the Kids Helpline on one eight hundred fifty five one eight hundred. We'll be back with your evening news headlines a little later on, but until then, have a good day.
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