Australian author Craig Silvey has been charged with further child exploitation offences, including producing such material, court documents show.
The 43-year-old, best known for the novel Jasper Jones, appeared at Fremantle magistrates court on Monday without entering pleas to any of the charges. He was previously charged in January with possessing and distributing child exploitation material.
Prosecutors have now added a charge of producing child exploitation material between January and June 2022, as well as an additional count of possession. His bail was extended under the same strict conditions, though no surety is now payable.
Police allegedly discovered communications with child exploitation offenders when they raided his Fremantle home before his arrest. Silvey, a former Miles Franklin and International Dublin literary award shortlistee, saw his books removed from reading lists after the initial charges, with publishers Allen & Unwin and Fremantle Press halting promotions.
In a related development, police have charged a 68-year-old woman with two counts of producing child exploitation material and one count of distributing it, allegedly created and distributed with Silvey. She also faces three counts of failing to comply with reporting obligations and has been remanded in custody to appear at Joondalup magistrates court on 2 April.
