Tom Silvagni’s rape victim doubts she will ever be able to have a romantic relationship again due to the torment she suffered at his hands.

Silvagni, the 23-year-old son of Melbourne celebrity couple Stephen and Jo Silvagni, was found guilty of sexually assaulting the woman inside his family’s luxurious home in the east Melbourne suburb of Balwyn North in January 2024.

Silvagni was found to have got into the bed where she was sleeping and pretended to be her boyfriend as he digitally raped her. 

His victim, who legally cannot be named, read aloud a victim impact statement to the court on Friday, as Silvagni watched on via video link from remand.   

In her impact statement the victim said Silvagni could no longer deny what he had done to her.

‘Tom Silvagni, you raped me, not once, but twice. You know this, I know this, and now, so does everyone else. You can continue denying it for the rest of your life, but we both know, that deep down, you are very much aware of what you did to me that night,’ she said, reports the Herald Sun. 

Tom Silvagni’s rape victim read her impact statement in court following his guilty verdict

His parents, Melbourne celebrity couple Stephen and Jo Silvagni, were by his side throughout the 10 day trial

‘Your actions that night have changed the way I trust, the way I sleep and the way I move through the world now. This decision of yours has impacted me for the rest of my life. I lost a version of myself that night.’

The woman said she even struggled to hug her own father following the rape because Silvagni had ended his own attack ‘wanting a hug … after you had raped me’.

‘Not only did your actions impact my friendships, but it’s impacted my ability to find a romantic connection. Something everybody wants to have at some point in life.

‘How am I supposed to find a partner when I know that either him or one of his mates could just switch up on me … and decide to rape me randomly, just like you did?

‘Every new connection feels like navigating a minefield. You didn’t just hurt me. You complicated every relationship I’ll have for the rest of my life.’

Since her rape she said there have been multiple nights where she is unable to sleep because its aftermath had left her in a trance similar to ‘the silence after a nightmare’.

‘Every day of my life I am taken back to that vision. You holding my hands behind my back while you got some kind of sick satisfaction out of immobilising me and raping me. 

‘No matter how many times I told you stop or tried to wriggle out of your grip, you didn’t,’ she said.

The woman, who cannot be legally named, said Silvagni could no longer interrupt or twist her words 

 A jury found Silvagni guilty on two counts of rape last Friday after less than two days of deliberation

Silvagni’s identity was suppressed from the time he was first charged in June 2024, with lawyers arguing that publication could harm his mental health

Judge Andrew Palmer lifted the order on Thursday, saying it was no longer necessary after the trial and given Silvagni would be closely monitored in custody.

There had also been extensive discussion online identifying Silvagni as the convicted rapist, the judge said.

‘At some point he will have to reconcile himself to the reality that he has committed these offences and there is media interest,’ Judge Palmer said on Thursday.

During the nearly 10-day trial, Crown prosecutor Jeremy McWilliams told jurors the rapes were committed ‘not through threats, not through force… but through deception,’ with Silvagni impersonating his friend to trick the woman.

He said Silvagni later engaged in ‘even more deception’ by falsifying an Uber receipt.

The court heard the victim arrived at the Silvagni home shortly after midnight on January 14, 2024, after being invited by Silvagni’s girlfriend Alannah Iaconis, who she was close to.

Earlier, a drinking session had taken place, but by 12.23am only Silvagni, Iaconis, and his former best friend Anthony LoGuidice – with whom the victim had a casual sexual relationship – remained.

Silvagni (pictured centre with brothers Ben (left) and Jack (right) is now on remand awaiting sentencing

Prosecutor McWilliams said the complainant had consensual sex with Mr LoGuidice in an upstairs bedroom.

At 1.58am, Mr LoGuidice, a close relative of former president of AFL club Carlton, Mark LoGuidice, left in an Uber and arrived home at 2.09am.

Silvagni then deceived the woman, falsely claiming Mr LoGuidice’s Uber had been cancelled and that he would be returning upstairs.

Silvagni entered the darkened bedroom himself, climbed into the bed and impersonated Mr LoGuidice before digitally raping the woman twice.

The victim said she identified Silvagni as he ‘ran’ out the room because ‘light was coming in’ from the hall.

While giving evidence, she told the court Silvagni led her around upstairs showing her various bedrooms she could use if she didn’t want to be with Mr LoGuidice.

Silvagni also ‘insisted’ the victim give him a hug, the jury heard.

At 2.15am the victim messaged Mr LoGuidice asking if he had left the property. He responded: ‘I’m at home.’

Silvagni almost immediately went into damage control after leaving the bedroom and asked LoGuidice to send him a copy of his Uber receipt, which he altered to falsely show the friend had left at 2.37am instead of 1.58am.

Silvagni admitted forging the receipt but said he did so because he panicked after claiming he was being falsely accused of rape.

Silvagni’s girlfriend Alannah Iaconis also stood by him throughout the trial

He sent the doctored version back to Mr LoGuidice via Snapchat along with a fabricated claim that ‘something had happened’ between his girlfriend and the victim.

Defence barrister David Hallowes SC argued his client was telling the truth and it was possible the woman’s mind was playing tricks on her.

Prosecutor McWilliams urged the jury to ignore Silvagni’s denials and instead believe the victim, who had given clear, consistent, and convincing evidence.

The jury retired to begin deliberations at 3pm on December 3 after hearing seven days of evidence and legal argument.

The 12 jurors returned their guilty verdicts shortly after midday last Friday.

Silvagni slumped in his seat with his head in his hands as the verdicts were delivered, while his mother cried in court.

Mrs Silvagni is perhaps best known as the model and presenter on Sale of the Century in the 1990s, before her high-profile marriage to Stephen.

She forged a TV career and is now the face of Chemist Warehouse on TV.

His father Stephen is an AFL great, having been named in the AFL Team of the 20th Century, having played over 300 games for Carlton, where his father – Tom’s grandfather – Sergio was also a premiership star.

Tom’s brother Jack also had a successful career at the Blues but has now switched to St Kilda. 

Her son is due to face a pre-sentence hearing on Friday when his lawyers will make submissions on his sentence.

The maximum jail term for rape is 25 years.

The young woman completed her victim impact statement with a powerful message.

‘The tears you shed in this courtroom are not for what you did,’ she said.

‘They were for the consequences you now face. My tears, however, are filled with happiness and relief knowing the immense pain I’ve felt … has all finally paid off. I’ve finally got the justice I deserve.’