Glenda J McGregor: Craig Silvey-linked grandmother charged with child exploitation gets taxpayer-funded lawyer

The grandmother accused of creating and distributing child exploitation material online with award-winning author Craig Silvey has been granted a taxpayer-funded lawyer. WA Police revealed last month that the 69-year-old Marangaroo woman had been arrested on February 18 and charged with six offences as part of the investigation into Mr Silvey. They said her charges came after analysis of electronic devices seized from the prolific novelist’s Fremantle home, where his mother also lives. And on Thursday, Glenda J McGregor faced Joondalup Magistrates Court via video link from a WA women’s prison, after previously having bail refused. The woman, an administration manager, only said “yes miss” when asked by the magistrate to confirm her name. Her duty counsel said she had just been granted Legal Aid and secured an adjournment until May 1. She has not yet entered pleas to two counts of producing child exploitation material, one count of distributing such material and three counts of failing to comply with reporting obligations. That means she is a reportable offender — someone who has previously committed a serious offence and requires police monitoring. Court documents show two of the child exploitation material charges were allegedly committed in Lake Coogee in 2022, while the remainder have her 2026 arrest date and Marangaroo listed. Mr Silvey has not yet entered pleas to two counts of possessing child exploitation material and one count each of producing and distributing such material. The author of popular children and young adults novels is in the community on bail and next due to face Fremantle Magistrates Court on May 5. The 43-year-old father-of-three’s lawyer Natalia Tasic previously told the court that one of his charges related to “written material”. The West does not suggest Ms McGregor or Mr Silvey are guilty of any of the charges. After his arrest, the writer’s novels were pulled from bookstore shelves and are no longer being promoted by publishers Allen & Unwin and Fremantle Press. Major bookstore chain Dymocks is no longer selling his books. His best sellers Jasper Jones, Runt and Honeybee have been removed from the WA school curriculum.