Washing machine repairman Bill Spedding will receive almost $1.5 million in compensation after being maliciously pursued by NSW Police in their investigation into William Tyrrell’s disappearance.
On Thursday, Justice Ian Harrison ordered the State of NSW pay $1.48 million plus interest after police charged the 71-year old with historical child sex allegations while searching for the three-year-old after he vanished in September 2014.
The judge found the accusations brought against Mr Spedding in 2015 were “concocted and false and could not be supported” and were brought against him for the collateral purpose of furthering the investigation into William’s location.
“I am satisfied that the institution and maintenance of the criminal prosecution was malicious. It was borne of malice directed to Mr Spedding and unrelated to the proper pursuit of the criminal law,” Justice Harrison said.
As former detective inspector Gary Jubelin later said in his book I Catch Killers, he hoped the pressure of the additional charges would be “enough to crack (Mr Spedding) open”.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr Spedding said he hoped the case would deter the police from taking such steps again.
“No sum of money will restore the life I enjoyed before this terrible nightmare,” he said.
“I brought this case to show that police decisions to prosecute must not be taken lightly and, more importantly, must not be taken to achieve some ulterior purpose.”
The tradesman was an early high-profile suspect in William’s disappearance from a home on the NSW mid-north coast.
Police searched Mr Spedding’s Bonny Hills home and drained his septic tank in January 2015, but found no evidence linking him to William.
Before being categorically ruled out in the investigations, he was charged in April 2015 over child abuse claims alleged to have taken place in the 1980s, spending 56 days in custody and then being released on strict bail conditions.
Clear evidence emerged that the complainants had been coached by another person to make the allegations and another person’s evidence undermined the case.
In March 2018, Mr Spedding was found not guilty.
Mr Spedding said he was charged for crimes he did not commit, all to further the police prosecution of him as a suspect in William’s disappearance.
“The criminal charges brought maliciously against me by police destroyed me and publicly portrayed me as a pedophile,” Mr Spedding said on Thursday.
“My reputation was severely and permanently damaged. My family life was torn apart. Our grandkids were taken from us, and their lives have also changed forever.”
Justice Harrison awarded Mr Spedding $550,000 for non-economic loss, $300,000 for reputational damage, $200,000 for aggravated damages as further compensation, $300,000 in exemplary damages to punish the NSW government, and $25,000 in future treatment expenses.
“Mr Spedding was subjected to a long and painful ordeal. It never should have occurred. The allegations for which he was prosecuted were old and discredited. They were frail and notoriously so,” the judge said.
“Notwithstanding those facts, Mr Spedding’s experience left him distressed, confused, wrongly imprisoned and separated from his family.
“His release from custody, which I find to have been extremely distressing and painful, did not restore to him the family from which he had been so improperly removed. Nor has it recovered even now.”
The judge also ordered NSW to pay almost $110,000 in Mr Spedding’s legal costs.
On Thursday, solicitor Peter O’Brien said his client had to deal with wrongful imprisonment as well as the “febrile condemnation” of the community, which included harassment, intimidation and threats.
“The impact on Mr Spedding and his family is enormous. Mr Spedding faced charges of the most serious nature which caused him tremendous humiliation, embarrassment, and anxiety,” he said.
A spokesperson from NSW Police said it would be reviewing the judgment.
“As that review is underway, it would be inappropriate to comment further,” they said.
AAP has contacted Police Minister Paul Toole for comment.
© AAP 2022
