© Provided by Daily Mail Jubelin (right) was hit with four criminal convictions and a hefty fine on Wednesday for taping phone conversations with 75-year-old pensioner Paul Savage (middle) Former lead detective Gary Jubelin says the investigation into William Tyrrell's disappearance has been jeopardised but has no regrets and would do it all again.

The veteran New South Wales homicide detective was on Wednesday convicted of illegally recording a person of interest in the case and fined $10,000.

He was hit with four criminal convictions and fined for taping phone conversations with 75-year-old pensioner Paul Savage.

Jubelin was investigating the little boy's disappearance when he secretly recorded Mr Savage, who lived on the same street as William's foster grandmother, four times between November 2017 and December 2018.

'The one person that was prepared to just stay in there and hang in there for as long as it takes is being taken off the investigation,' Jubelin told 60 Minutes.

'My part in it, that eats me away. I'm there to help the people and now because of the circumstances I find myself in it's jeopardised the investigation.'

© Provided by Daily Mail The final photograph of William Tyrrell. He vanished from his foster grandmother's home while wearing his Spiderman costume on September 12, 2014



Former NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas said the investigation will remain unsolved as a direct result of Jubelin being taken off the case in 2019.

'One of the saddest parts of this whole saga is that the investigation into the disappearance of William Tyrrell in my view will now struggle to get anywhere,' Kaldas said.

'I think that [is] really something that people should hang their head in shame about.'

© Provided by Daily Mail Former NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas said the investigation into William's (pictured) disappearance will remain unsolved since Jubelin was taken off the case in 201 Mr Kaldas said he cannot recall any moment 'the state had gunned for someone so hard for so little' as they had with Jubelin.

'I think this has been a dreadful miscarriage of justice,' he said.

The boy in the Spider-man suit was three years old when he vanished from his foster grandmother's property on Benaroon Drive in Kendall, on the New South Wales mid-north coast, in September 2014.

Jubelin took the lead on the investigation in 2015 until he was taken off the case when he was accused of falsifying affidavits and illegally recording conversations.

'All of a sudden I'm that bad that I'm just being taken off all my cases, access to the computer, no firearm, no police car, I'm not allowed to talk to anyone in the homicide office,' he told 60 Minutes.

© Provided by Daily Mail The veteran NSW homicide detective was on Wednesday convicted of illegally recording a person of interest in the case and fined $10,000 (pictured after his conviction)

The former homicide detective described the criminal conviction as a 'scar' on his reputation, believing at the time that he had a lawful right to record the conversations.

'Now, the court's ruled that I didn't have a lawful right. I accept that. My interpretation of the law was that I had a lawful right,' Jubelin said.

'I'm shattered, obviously. I never thought I would ever be charged.'

'I spoke to a Deputy Commissioner, he said this is ridiculous and that same Deputy Commissioner, in front of an Assistant Commissioner, told me that I wouldn't be charged.'

While he says he is now 'mortified' that he has a criminal history beside his name and a shattered reputation he does not regret the approach he took to the investigation.

'As I'm sitting here now in the circumstances, I wish the hell I didn't record those conversations,' Jubelin said.

'I get no joy from going hard at people in murder investigations. But I have a certain responsibility as a homicide detective, and that's to explore what's happened to the victim. That's my job.'

The toddler's foster parents revealed they were 'treated like suspects' by Jubelin during his time investigating William's death.

© Provided by Daily Mail An inquest into the disappearance of William Tyrell (pictured) was launched earlier this year, where the foster mother described in vivid detail how 'silent' it got in the backyard The toddler's foster parents, who cannot be identified, met Jubelin when he took over the investigation and say the detective knew the couple 'inside out'.

Three years after the disappearance the foster parents were asked to meet Jubelin at Parramatta Police Station in Sydney's west, The Daily Telegraph reported.

When they met the detective he told them: 'You're not going to like me after this. I'm going to ask you questions that make you feel uncomfortable.'

The couple were separated into different interview rooms.

The foster mother was asked if she had anything to do with William's disappearance and questioned whether family members were hiding information.

© Provided by Daily Mail The foster mother (pictured), who cannot be named for legal reasons, revealed how lead detective Gary Jubelin 'treated them like suspects' during the investigation into the toddler's disappearance

'I was livid and really furious with Gary because of the trust,' she said.

She said Jubelin described possible scenarios about the toddler's disappearance and said she was shocked by the line of questioning because they had been '100 per cent upfront with everything'.

Jubelin ruled the couple out as suspects, but had to conduct the intense interviews after being pushed by other detectives.

The foster parents were furious as they left the police station following the interviews, unaware police had planted recording devices in the couple's car.

© Provided by Daily Mail The foster parents were furious as they left the police station following the interviews, unaware police had planted recording devices in the couple's car. Pictured: William Tyrrell's foster father during a police walkthrough. He cannot be identified for legal reasons Nothing was said to implicate the couple but they made remarks about Jubelin being an 'a***hole'.

But the foster mother said it made her realise that if she were treated like a suspect, then Jubelin would be 'treating potential suspects in an even more focused way'.

'That showed me he was all over this investigation and he wasn't half hearted, he was fully invested. If someone is fully invested in looking for my child then I support them,' she said.

William's foster mother repeatedly choked up in court as she testified to the officer's integrity in a character reference earlier on Wednesday.

© Provided by Daily Mail Jubelin, right, with his son, Jake, and daughter, Gemma, ahead of his sentencing on Wednesday

'He has never met William, but he knows William,' she told the court on Wednesday.

The foster mother said she had been told by no less than then-state Premier Mike Baird and police minister Troy Grant that Jubelin was the 'best cop' in the state, and praised his 'courage'.

'We were reassured he was the man that was needed. He was the guy that was going to get it done,' she said.

But that did not stop Magistrate Ross Hudson from convicting him of illegally recording the conversations.

Handing down his sentence, Magistrate Hudson said Jubelin's recordings of Mr Savage occurred over a 12-month period and struck 'across the heart, nature and purpose' of the law banning secret recordings.

Jubelin stood up immediately on sentence but was told to 'relax' by the magistrate.

The detective-turned-columnist's barrister, Margaret Cunneen SC said it was 'an exceptional case involving an exceptional man', and that he had made a 'mistake'.

© Provided by Daily Mail Three years after the disappearance the foster parents were asked to meet Jubelin at Parramatta Police Station in Sydney's west

Jubelin had recorded Mr Savage on four separate occasions between November 3, 2017 and December 28, 2018.

Ms Cunneen asked a conviction not be recorded, claiming her client was abused by a passerby on Wednesday saying: 'You're going to have fun in jail mate. You deserve it'.

But Crown Prosecutor Phil Hogan said Mr Jubelin had breached Mr Savage's 'civil rights' not to be secretly recorded by the state.

Mr Hogan said Jubelin had a 'complete lack of contrition and remorse'.

'He chose to break the law, he knew he was breaking the law ... and then he was dishonest about it, in interviews, in contact with media leading up to the hearing, and in his evidence before this court.'

He asked a sentence that would deter other police officers from breaching the law - and that was what he got.

Magistrate Ross Hudson, who presided over the case, delivered a scathing three-hour judgment against Jubelin earlier this week.

He said Jubelin had 'belittled and humiliated' Savage and pursued him 'at all costs' despite 'no DNA, fingerprints ... no leads, nothing'.

Jubelin said he is appealing the decision.