A mother whose ex-fiancé has been jailed for pedophilia has recalled the chilling moment she discovered his disgusting crimes.
Amy, from Sittingbourne in Kent, had just given birth to the daughter she shares with Jamie Kennedy when she found indecent images of underage girls on her phone.
Kennedy, 41, from Herne Bay, has been convicted of a series of child sex offenses at Canterbury Crown Court, including rape, sexual activity with a child and possession of indecent images of children.
Her conviction comes seven years after Amy made the horrifying discovery while cradling her two-week-old daughter in her arms.
As her ex awaits sentencing in September for 16 felonies, Amy recalled how she thought he was having an affair, but was disgusted by what she found.
Jamie Kennedy, 41, from Herne Bay in Kent, was convicted of 16 sex offenses at Canterbury Crown Court, including rape and sexual assault.
The mother, who has chosen not to share her last name, said kentonline she was up in the middle of the night with her newborn in 2016, five days after she was brought home from a traumatic birth, when she decided to check Kennedy’s phone.
She explained that she had been suspicious of him for weeks because he seemed to show little interest in their newborn daughter and was glued to his phone.
While Kennedy slept, Amy, who at the time was saving for a mortgage with Kennedy, checked her messages and was initially unable to find anything unusual.
However, when he opened his Instagram app, the new mother found indecent images of underage girls, which he had blackmailed them into sending him.
After making the sickening discovery, Amy said she “lost everything” almost instantly.
‘My son no longer had a father. My mortgage plans were off the charts. Our wedding was cancelled. In a snap of my fingers I became a single mother who had essentially lost her entire life,” she said.
Not knowing what to do, Amy ran to her mother’s room to wake her up. When her mother asked her what was wrong with her, she replied: ‘Jamie is a pedophile.’
The convicted pedophile messaged girls on Instagram and blackmailed them into sending him nude images.
As they prepared to report it to the police, the mother and daughter stayed up all night transferring the evidence they had found to another device, because Jamie had previously destroyed an old phone. Three days later, they presented the evidence to the police.
As time passed and Amy waited for Kennedy to stand trial in court, she struggled with the constant fear that he would show up while she was with her daughter and constantly looked over her shoulder while out in public.
She had obtained a no-abuse order against him, but claims he had harassed her both in person and online, forcing her to move house three times.
In the meantime, she’s learned of more allegations against her ex, and has even started working with her victims to help them report their abuse.
One of the victims was 16 years old when Kennedy approached her online and began flirting with her. Before long, he blackmailed her into meeting him in person, and during this meeting, he raped and sexually assaulted her.
After the victim (with Amy’s support) reported her story to the police, Kennedy was charged with rape and sexual assault. Media coverage of his charges forced another victim to come forward, who had been sexually assaulted by Kennedy 20 years ago, when he was just 13 years old.
The final charges against Kennedy related to crimes committed last year against a 13-year-old girl.
The court heard that the pedophile, while on bail and awaiting trial for his other crimes, lured the teen into his home to engage in sexual activity. Both she and the victim’s family were unaware that he was being tried for sexual crimes.
When Kennedy was first arrested, he denied the allegations against him and insisted that he was contacting children on social media as research for an online security app he was developing.
His lies quickly fell apart when it was established that he had set up the business under the name ‘Keyword’ one day after his arrest.
However, during his trial, Kennedy tried to frame Amy, stating that he only confessed to the crimes because she had threatened to take his daughter away.
Interestingly, he accused Amy of committing the crimes he had been accused of.
He told the court that his ex was “100% evil” and claimed that the allegations against him traced back to Amy.
However, the jury did not buy his story and unanimously found him guilty of all 16 counts in less than 11 hours of deliberations.
In all, he was convicted of two counts of causing or attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity, six counts of rape and sexual assault, and three counts involving indecent images of children.
After being convicted, Kennedy was taken into custody and will be sentenced on September 8.
Amy, who was present in court with her mother and her new husband when the verdict was read out, described it as a “surreal experience”.
She described being so overcome with relief that she broke down in tears at the verdict.
Now, as she tries to move on with her life, Amy has learned to stop blaming herself for Kennedy’s sick crimes, since she couldn’t know what she was doing.
However, he expressed frustration that it took Kennedy seven years to be brought to justice after his report to police in 2016.
Amy believes that if he had been convicted earlier, some of Kennedy’s more recent victims might have been spared.
Superintendent Nick Sparkes said: “Kent Police put victims at the center of everything we do and officers investigate crime reports to the highest standards, as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that victims can receive justice and criminals are punished for all crimes”. . We also provide shelter and support to those affected.
‘In this particular case, the suspect was arrested one day after the initial report was received and an investigation was launched.
“Subsequent investigations led to the identification of more victims, which caused a very complex and sensitive investigation. This included conducting various interviews with witnesses and victims and collecting evidentiary materials, including downloading and analyzing numerous digital devices.
‘This investigation resulted in the clearance of several sex offense charges and a conviction in court with the offender awaiting sentencing. We hope this provides some justice and closure for the victims in this case.
“We are committed to continuous learning and have measures in place to ensure that the strongest possible case files are submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service on the first attempt.
“We are continuing to review the circumstances of this case to identify any areas for future improvement and learning and have been in contact with those involved since then to address any concerns raised.”
Femail has contacted Kent Police for further comment.
