No way of identifying elements created by Repeater

ExclusiveGroup {
    model: VisualItemModel {
        Button { id: button1; text: "Button A"; property alias selected: button1.checked; checkable: true } // see QTBUG-15139
        Button { id: button2; text: "Button B"; property alias selected: button2.checked; checkable: true }
        Button { id: button3; text: "Button C"; property alias selected: button3.checked; checkable: true }
    }
}

import QtQuick 1.0

Item {
    property alias model: repeater.model
    property Item selectedItem: null
    Row {
        Repeater { id: repeater }

        onChildrenChanged: {
            var _child = children[children.length-1];    // PROBLEM IS HERE
            _child.selectedChanged.connect(_child, handleSelectionChanged);
            if(_child.selected) {
                if(selectedItem) {
                    selectedItem.selected = false;
                }
                selectedItem = _child;
            }
        }

        Component.onCompleted: {
            if(!selectedItem) {
                for(var i = 0; i < children.length; i++) {
                    var _child = children[i];
                    if(_child != repeater) {
                        selectedItem = _child;
                        selectedItem.selected = true;
                        break;
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        property bool selectionChanging: false

        function handleSelectionChanged() {
            print("Selection changed! Item: " + this + " selected: " + this.selected);
            if(this.selected && this != selectedItem) {
                if(selectedItem) {
                    selectionChanging = true;
                    selectedItem.selected = false;
                    selectionChanging = false
                }

                selectedItem = this;
            } else if(!selectionChanging && selectedItem == this && !this.selected) {    // Click was on already selected item
                this.selected = true;   // Reselect it
            }
        }
    }
}