‘Having a baby made me realise my fiancé was a paedophile blackmailing kids’

A new mum who suspected her fiancé of having an affair discovered he was actually a paedophile.

Amy first became suspicious of her partner, Jamie Kennedy, when she noticed he wasn't paying attention to their newborn baby girl just days after she was brought home in 2016.

As Amy's doubts grew she checked his phone for evidence of another woman, only to discover he had been grooming children and blackmailing them to send explicit snaps.

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The mum from Sittingbourne, Kent said: "I was in complete and utter shock – we were engaged, saving for a mortgage and I’d just had a baby 17 days before.

"I literally lost everything in the space of an hour."

Amy stayed up all night transferring the evidence she found, and three days later she asked her mum to report her ex to the police.

The find prompted a police investigation which ultimately saw Kennedy, 41, convicted on 16 charges relating to rape and sexual activity with children last month.

But for the seven years prior to his trial, Amy – who didn't want her surname published – suffered harassment in person and online from her ex, despite a non-molestation order.

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Kennedy was also able to continue his sick targeting of young girls and some of the offences he was charged with happened as recently as last year.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that a year after Amy first uncovered her husband's crimes, she learned her ex's history of targeting young girls was far more far-reaching than she thought.

To her horror, Amy learned her ex had been romantically pursuing a school pupil almost a decade earlier, a fact she quickly reported to police.

Two years later, after finding out officers hadn't pursued the lead, she contacted the woman herself to ask whether she would consider coming forward.

It emerged the girl had been 16 at the time of her interactions with Kennedy, and therefore not underage.

But she had been threatened and even blackmailed by the tormentor.

Speaking in court, the victim said Kennedy had initially been flirty in their online conversations before threatening to send screenshots of their chats to her parents unless she followed his orders.

The coercion until she met up with him, during which he raped and sexually assaulted her in his car.

After Kennedy was charged, the reports of his case encouraged another victim – who was just 13 when she was targeted – to come forward.

She told the court that after a Sunday lunch the paedophile sexually assaulted her while a relative lay passed out metres away.

Kennedy's final charges related to offences that took place while he was on bail awaiting trial last year when he coerced another 13-year-old into taking part in sexual activity at his home.

Jurors took under 11 hours to unanimously convict Kennedy of two of causing or attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity; three relating to indecent images of children; six counts of rape and sexual assault and five counts of sexual activity with a child.

He was remanded into custody and is due to be sentenced in September of this year.

Speaking of the conviction, Amy, who is now happily remarried and has a second child with her new husband, said: "Hearing the verdict was a very surreal experience.

"The absolute relief when I heard that 'guilty' was something I've never experienced before."

Superintendent Nick Sparkes, of Kent Police, said: "We are continuing to review the circumstances of this case to identify any areas of improvement and future learning and have since been in touch with those involved to address any concerns raised."

If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website, www.victimsupport.org.uk.

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