Gary Jubelin cops it for crossing line in William Tyrrell hunt

Gary Jubelin, right, leaves the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Monday. Picture: AAP

For the first time in his life, former homicide detective Gary Jubelin went to court hoping for a “not guilty” verdict on Monday.

For the first time in his life, he was the man on trial, and he was desperately hoping the magistrate at the Downing Centre Local Court, Ross Hudson, would dismiss all the charges of misconduct against him.

He knew he had technically done the wrong thing, using his own mobile phone as a recording device, as he went about trying to solve the disappearance of a three-year-old foster child, William Tyrrell.

He said he did so because police bugs, which were all over the bush around the village of Kendall, and in people’s cars and phones, often failed. The batteries conked out, or else the tapes would back up to the point that nobody could listen to them all.

The court refused to accept any of his excuses.

William Tyrrell. Picture: AAP

The decision left William’s foster family devastated.

“Gary Jubelin … lived and breathed the investigation with absolute commitment to finding out what has happened to William,” they said in a statement.

“Where’s the justice for William? Where’s the justice for William and his loved ones?”

But William’s biological family have never liked Jubelin. They always believed he was barking up the wrong tree when he targeted an elderly neighbour, Paul Savage, who has always denied having anything to do with the matter.

Hudson was not without sympathy for police.

Everyone wants to find out what happened to William. It’s been six years, and police still have no leads.

READ MORE: NOWHERE CHILD PODCAST An investigation by Caroline Overington exploring the case of William Tyrrell

But that doesn’t mean they can start cutting corners, at least not in the eyes of the law.

The Surveillance Devices Act exists for a good reason.

It puts in place a structure: police can record private conversations as they go about trying to solve serious criminal matters, but they have to get a warrant to do it.

And here’s the interesting thing: police did have a warrant to record Savage’s conversations. It just didn’t cover Jubelin’s phone.

Jubelin has long maintained that all he ever wanted was to solve the case.

He enjoys the support of literally thousands of people who have signed petitions to try to get him reinstated to the police force.

Families of homicide victims know he goes in hard when it comes to questioning suspects, and they know he sometimes makes mistakes, because who doesn’t? But there’s a line in the sand, and he has crossed it.

Guilty, all four counts.