Gary Jubelin sentencing: William Tyrrell family backs fallen cop at sentencing
As missing William Tyrrell’s foster mum backs Gary Jubelin, police commissioner says years of good police work shouldn’t be forgotten.
Former homicide detective Gary Jubelin is neither a “disgraced” nor a “corrupt” cop, but he is now a former police officer with a criminal record, having been convicted and fined a total of $10,000 for using his own mobile phone to make illegal recordings while investigating the disappearance of William Tyrrell.
Magistrate Ross Hudson, who presided in February over the 10-day trial of one of NSW’s best-known homicide detectives, handed down the sentence on Wednesday.
Jubelin expressed disappointment with the conviction, thanked his supporters, and promised to appeal.
In handing down the sentence, Mr Hudson said there was no justification for anyone to refer to Jubelin as disgraced or corrupt, saying he had a long history of serving the people of NSW.
He had, over 32 years as a police officer, provided comfort and succour to families of homicide victims; and he had solved many serious crimes, including murder.
But, Mr Hudson said, Jubelin had made illegal recordings of a possible suspect in the Tyrrell case, and his action “strikes across the heart, nature (and) purpose of the Surveillance Devices Act”.
“This was an enormous investigation,” Mr Hudson said, referring to the “tragic” loss of William, who was last seen at his foster nana’s house in Kendall, on the NSW mid-north coast on September 12, 2014.
Mr Hudson said police listening devices often failed, either because the batteries ran out, or because the suspect mumbled incoherently, plus there weren’t enough officers to listen to all the tapes.
However, Mr Hudson said it was vital for police to ensure that evidence was “admissible” lest the case be “thrown out”.
“The tentacles of illegal recording have to be noted,” he said.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, who is currently trying to manage the Ruby Princess COVID-19 crisis, acknowledged Jubelin during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
“He’s been found guilty and he’s paid the price,” he said, “but we shouldn’t forget about the other 32 years of good, positive police work.”
Jubelin was for four years the lead investigator for Strikeforce Rosann, which continues to investigate William’s disappearance.
His barrister, Margaret Cunneen SC, described proceedings in the Downing Centre courtroom as an “exceptional case, about an exceptional man”.
William’s foster mother, who cannot be named, gave Jubelin a glowing character reference, saying she had been assured by former NSW premier Mike Baird, former police minister Troy Grant and federal MP Linda Burney that Jubelin was “the best cop in NSW”.
“I think the NSW police force has lost one of their best police officers,” she said.
Jubelin admitted in evidence that he recorded four conversations with Paul Savage, 75, who lived opposite the house William disappeared from.
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