The judge said it plainly: “No remorse.” As the brave victim fought back tears while reading her heartbreaking impact statement, describing how the rape had shattered her life and haunted her every day, Tom Silvagni sat motionless on the video link from prison – unmoved, untouched, his face betraying nothing. When the sentence was handed down, he showed no reaction. This wasn’t just a verdict. It was a chilling moment that left the packed courtroom shaken.

In a televised hearing at Victoria’s County Court on Wednesday, Judge Gregory Lyon sentenced 23-year-old Tom Silvagni – the youngest son of AFL icon Stephen Silvagni and TV personality Jo Silvagni – to six years and two months in jail for two counts of rape. He will be eligible for parole after serving three years and three months.

Silvagni, who maintained his innocence throughout the trial and is considering an appeal, was found guilty earlier this month of digitally raping a young woman at his family’s luxury home in Balwyn North on January 14, 2024. The attack occurred after a night of socializing while his famous parents were away in Noosa.

The victim, referred to under the pseudonym Samantha Taylor, had consensual sex with her casual boyfriend – a friend of Silvagni’s – before he left in an Uber around 2 a.m. Silvagni then lied, telling her the Uber was cancelled and her boyfriend would return soon. In the dark bedroom, he impersonated the boyfriend and raped her twice, despite her protests.

In the days after, Silvagni forged an Uber receipt to make it appear the boyfriend had stayed longer, a “deliberate” cover-up that Judge Lyon said added to the crime’s seriousness.

“You have demonstrated no remorse and no insight into any aspect of your wrongdoing,” Judge Lyon told Silvagni directly. “Not the rapes, not altering the Uber receipt or your later conduct… Successful rehabilitation requires both.”

The judge described the offenses as “marked by planning, cunning and strategy,” “egregious,” and displaying a “real lack of empathy.” He praised the victim’s “real integrity” and courage for testifying in person and reading her 30-minute impact statement aloud last Friday, calling it a “heartfelt and eloquent account of the trauma she continues to feel.”

The victim wiped away tears during sentencing remarks, supported by family, while Jo Silvagni was seen glaring across the room at her at times. Silvagni, appearing via video in a green sweatshirt with stubble, kept a blank expression – though his chin quivered briefly – as the sentence was read.

Judge Lyon acknowledged mitigating factors: Silvagni’s youth, no prior convictions, diagnosed depression, and the harsh impact of intense media scrutiny as “additional punishment.” He said prospects for rehabilitation were “very good” due to strong family support and education, but the lack of remorse weighed heavily.

Silvagni’s parents, Stephen and Jo, showed little emotion in court and quickly left afterward, ignoring reporters. Jo was later seen shoving a female journalist outside.

The case had been under suppression for over a year, hiding Silvagni’s identity until last week. His defense argued publicity would harm his mental health, but a judge lifted it, noting his name was already widely known.

Tom Silvagni, brother of current St Kilda player Jack Silvagni, had dashed AFL dreams himself before earning a business degree and working as a players’ agent. Now, his legacy is forever changed.

The victim issued a powerful statement the day after sentencing, saying the rape haunts her “every single day” and she’s navigating a “minefield of lies and gaslighting.”

Judge Lyon hoped her courage signals a path to recovery: “The rehabilitation of the survivor of sexual crimes is often harder to achieve than that of the offender.”

As Silvagni begins his sentence, the AFL community grapples with the fallout for one of its most famous families. The courtroom moment – victim’s pain laid bare, offender’s stone face – serves as a stark reminder of the human cost.