Tom Silvagni: Man from prominent AFL family jailed for six years and two months for raping woman twice
Convicted rapist Tom Silvagni has been sentenced to six years and two months in prison for “slyly” sexually abusing a young woman at her family home almost two years ago.
Silvagni, 23, returned to the Victorian District Court on Wednesday, less than two weeks after a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape on December 5.
Shortly after 10am, the son of Carlton Hall of Fame member Stephen Silvagni and brother of St Kilda star Jack Silvagni beamed into the courtroom from Melbourne Assessment Prison wearing a green sweatshirt and fresh stubble.
More than 50 people were present in court.
Judge Gregory Lyon said Silvagni would have to serve at least three years and three months in prison before being eligible for parole.
Prosecutors, led by Jeremy McWilliams, described Silvagni’s crime as “objectively serious” and argued that the convicted rapist demonstrated cunning deception and persistent dishonesty after the fact in order to avoid accountability.
At the trial, jurors heard Silvagni sneaked into the guest room at her parents’ Balwyn North home in the early hours of last January morning and digitally raped the woman twice, pretending to be her friend, a man she had previously had consensual sex with.
In the days and weeks that followed, he lied to the woman, claiming to be her friend, and doctored an Uber bill to show that the friend was still at home when he had already left.
“To deny her experience of reality shows a real lack of moral ability and a real lack of morality, a real lack of empathy and a real sense of entitlement,” Mr. McWilliams said.
Silvagni’s barrister, David Hallowes SC, urged Judge Lyon to give his client “a light in which he can see where he can come out of the tunnel and do something useful with his life”.
He argued that the sentence should have taken into account Silvagni’s youth, previous good character and “excellent prospects for rehabilitation”.
Silvagni’s defense submitted two medical reports to psychiatrists about mental health problems, including depression and anxiety; The authors of these reports believed that they would make his time in custody even more difficult.
The rape case had been shrouded in secrecy under a series of suppression orders since Silvagni was charged in June last year; The last order was rescinded by Judge Andrew Palmer last Thursday.
“At some point he will have to come to terms with the fact that he committed these crimes and that the media is paying attention to them,” the judge said.
While Silvagni maintains his innocence, his father Stephen told the media last week that the family was “considering our appeal options.”
Stephen and Jo Silvagni quickly left the field minutes later.
