Tom Silvagni: Man from prominent AFL family jailed for six years and two months for raping woman twice

Convicted rapist Tom Silvagni has been jailed for six years and two months over the “insidious” sexual abuse of a young woman at his parents’ home almost two years ago. Silvagni, 23, returned to Victoria’s County 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 Famer Stephen Silvagni and brother of St Kilda star Jack Silvagni was beamed into the courtroom from the Melbourne Assessment Prison, wearing a green sweatshirt and sporting a new stubble beard. More than 50 people were present in court. Judge Gregory Lyon said Silvagni would serve a minimum of three years and three months before becoming eligible for parole. Prosecutors, led by Jeremy McWilliams, labelled Silvagni’s crime “objectively serious”, arguing the convicted rapist demonstrated cunning deception and persistent dishonesty after the fact in an attempt to avoid accountability. At trial, jurors heard Silvagni snuck into a guest room at his parents’ Balwyn North home in the early hours of the morning last January, twice digitally raping the woman while pretending to be his friend, a man the woman had previously had consensual sex with. In the days and weeks that followed, he lied to the woman, claiming it was the friend, and doctored a Uber receipt to show the friend was still at the home, when he’d already left. “To deny her experience of reality demonstrates a real moral capability and real moral deficit, a real lack of empathy, a real sense of entitlement,” Mr McWilliams said. Silvagni’s barrister, David Hallowes SC, urged Judge Lyon to give his client “some light that he can see where he will get out of the tunnel and make something useful of his life”. He argued the sentence imposed needed to take into account Silvagni’s youth, prior good character, and “excellent prospects for rehabilitation”. Silvagni’s defence tendered two medical reports from psychiatrists about his mental health issues, including depression and anxiety, which the writers of those reports believed would make his time in custody more difficult. The rape case had been shrouded in secrecy by a series of suppression orders since Silvagni was charged in June last year — with a final order revoked last Thursday by Judge Andrew Palmer. “At some point he will have to reconcile himself to the reality that he has committed these offences and there is media interest in them,” the judge said. Silvagni maintains his innocence, with his father Stephen telling the media last week the family are “considering our options to appeal”. Stephen and Jo Silvagni quickly left the court minutes after