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Kristian Silva
Kristian Silva is a court reporter with ABC News in Melbourne. He has been a journalist since 2011, and previously worked in newsrooms in regional Victoria and Brisbane. Follow him on Twitter: @kristian_silva
Latest by Kristian Silva
'We have no words': Brother of Daylesford pub crash victim speaks outside court
By court reporter Kristian Silva
The families of five people killed in a crash outside a regional Victorian pub are told it could take a long time for any case to be finalised, with police still unsure whether the driver will be charged.
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Private investigator tells court he feared for his safety while meeting with John Setka's estranged wife
By court reporter Kristian Silva
A secret recording played in court reveals Emma Walters, the estranged wife of union figure John Setka, told a private investigator "I have to kill my children's father to survive".
Updated
Alan Tudge wanted media coverage from donation now centre of foreign interference trial, court hears
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Alan Tudge tells the trial of Di Sanh Duong he hoped to get positive media coverage when he helped facilitate a donation from the businessman to a hospital. The seemingly innocent event placed the former federal minister in the middle of a foreign interference investigation.
Businessman was 'big-noter' but never acted for Chinese government, foreign interference trial hears
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Melbourne man "Sunny" Duong liked to boast about his connections and is a "big-noter", but never acted on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party to influence Australian politicians, his lawyer tells a foreign interference trial.
'Beijing will know what I'm doing': Secret recordings to feature at foreign interference trial
By court reporter Kristian Silva
The motive behind a donation businessman Di Sanh "Sunny" Duong made to the Royal Melbourne Hospital during the COVID pandemic is scrutinised as part of a foreign interference trial.
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Footy club legend launches legal action over alleged $100m Ponzi scheme
Carlton Football Club legend Ian Collins accuses the suburban Melbourne law firm behind a suspected multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme of secretly placing fraudulent mortgages over his properties as part of a sophisticated strategy to swindle investors.
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Victoria's education department organised internal transfer for paedophile teacher, inquiry hears
By court reporter Kristian Silva
After Victorian teacher David Ernest Keith MacGregor was convicted of indecent assault, the education department transferred him to a new school.
Former CHO Brett Sutton's decision in 'slug gate' saga unfair, court finds
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Ian Cook, of Melbourne caterer I Cook Foods, says it's a "bittersweet victory" after a Supreme Court judge ruled the business was unfairly shut down following a listeria outbreak in 2019.
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'There were other victims': Western Bulldogs sexual abuse scandal could widen
By court reporter Kristian Silva
The Western Bulldogs sexual abuse scandal could widen, after survivor Adam Kneale was awarded the highest compensation payout in history.
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Western Bulldogs to appeal after 'biggest' sexual abuse compensation win in Australian history
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Adam Kneale will receive from the Western Bulldogs what lawyers are describing as the largest jury payout awarded to a sexual abuse survivor.
Updated
Jury delivers mixed verdicts to Melbourne brothers accused of terrorism over small bushfires
By court reporter Kristian Silva
A man who lit bushfires and filmed videos pledging his loyalty to Islamic State is found guilty of terrorism-related offences, but his older brother will walk free after being cleared by a jury.
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Erin Patterson accused of attempting to murder estranged husband four times
By court reporter Kristian Silva and staff
Prosecutors say it will take months to analyse computer equipment seized from the home of a woman charged with murder over a mushroom meal linked to three deaths in Victoria's east.
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Man allegedly at centre of money laundering operation owns $10m house, could flee via private jet, court warned
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Four people alleged to be part of a money laundering syndicate, including the accused ringleader, are granted bail in a Melbourne court a week after they were arrested.
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Former Western Bulldogs president denies knowing about paedophile volunteer's crimes
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Former Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon says he had no knowledge about a paedophile who infiltrated the club, despite police interviewing staff members and a front-page newspaper story about the man's horrific offending.
Updated
Melbourne doctor found guilty, wife cleared over sweet shop slavery
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Doctor Seyyed Farshchi is found guilty of forced labour offences, including not paying a refugee for three months.
Updated
'I regret everything': Fraudster spared jail after stealing funds to lure international cricketers to suburban Melbourne club
By court reporter Kristian Silva
A serial fraudster who stole money to stage a star-studded cricket tournament has avoided prison, but the judge warned the reprieve was not "a get-out-of-jail-free card".
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Neo-Nazis walk free from court, spared further jail time over attack on Victorian hikers
By court reporter Kristian Silva
White supremacists Thomas Sewell and Jacob Hersant are convicted of violent disorder over a 2021 incident where far-right extremists ambushed a group of hikers.
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Sydney man faces court over cafe killing of Melbourne gangland figure Gavin Preston
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Jaeden Tito was flown from NSW to Melbourne under police guard and driven straight to the Melbourne Magistrates Court after being charged over the September shooting.
Money laundering is usually done in the shadows. The AFP alleges this syndicate was operating in plain sight
Australian Federal Police arrest seven people in Melbourne and seize $50 million worth of luxury cars and property as part of a long-running investigation into an alleged money-laundering syndicate it says was operating "in plain sight".
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Melbourne principal resigns after Federal Court finds Jewish students were subject to bullying
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Brighton Secondary College principal Richard Minack resigns, a month after the Federal Court found Jewish students suffered at school under his watch.
Updated
Inquiry begins into horrors at Victorian state-run primary schools
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Timothy Courtney says the abuse started when he was in year 3 at Beaumaris Primary School. He tells a state inquiry he hopes sharing his story will help to reduce the stigma felt by other survivors.
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International cricketers played at a local club in Melbourne last year. They were paid in stolen money
By court reporter Kristian Silva
A man who stole $250,000 from his workplace and used the money to lure international cricket players to Australia to represent his local club pleads guilty to fraud charges.
Tim Mathieson, former partner of Julia Gillard, spared jail over sexual assault on sleeping woman
By court reporter Kristian Silva
The 66-year-old will be fined $7,000 after he formally pleaded guilty over the March 2022 incident.
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Victim wants to 'send a message' by taking AFL club to court over sexual abuse
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Adam Kneale has accused the Western Bulldogs of turning a blind eye to a sexual predator who preyed on young boys at the club four decades ago.
Updated
'You guys are … disgusting': Emails between Vanessa Amorosi and her mother shown to court during civil trial
By court reporter Kristian Silva
Australian singer-songwriter Vanessa Amorosi has denied deliberately making a false statement to authorities, having a bad memory, and trying to win a legal case against her mother because she was short of money.
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