One of James Bulger’s killers could be days away from freedom - despite having been convicted of a string of sickening crimes since his release.
Jon Venables was just 10 years old when he and his friend, Robert Thompson, tortured and murdered two-year-old James after abducting him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Liverpool, in 1993.
After serving eight years, they were released in 2001. While Thompson has stayed out of trouble, Venables has reoffended four times and has returned to prison twice.
In 2018, he was jailed for 40 months after being was caught with a stash of child sex about images on his computer for a second time.
He now faces a parole hearing within days, The Mirror reports. Amid fears that her son's killer could be released from prison, Jamie's mum Denise Fergus has written to Liz Truss pleading with her to step in to block Venables' bid for freedom.
After being convicted of Jamie's murder in November 1993, Venables was detained indefinitely. He and Thompson spent eight years in a secure juvenile detention unit before being released at 18 with secret identities, without spending any time in an adult prison.
But in September 2008, Venables was arrested on suspicion of affray after a drunken brawl and was given a formal warning by the probation service. Later the same year he was cautioned for possession of cocaine after he was found with a small amount of the class A drug.
In 2010, Venables had his parole revoked and was jailed for two years after admitting downloading images of children being sexually abused. He posed as a 35-year-old married woman called Dawn who abused her eight-year-old daughter.
Videos he downloaded showed girls said to appear as young as eight being raped. Other images found on Venables’s computer involved children as young as two.
He was released again in 2013. James's mother, Denise Fergus, and father, Ralph Bulger, both addressed Venables' parole hearing at the time and pushed for him to remain in prison. However, the decision went against the toddler's parents and Venables was granted parole.
After his release was made public, James Bulger’s mother Denise Fergus blasted that Venables was a “danger to the public”.
In 2018, Venables was jailed after he was caught with a stash of indecent pictures of children on his computer for a second time.
During a hearing at the Old Bailey, he pleaded guilty to downloading 1,170 images from the dark web over the course of several months as well as having a "sickening" paedophile manual.
Mr Justice Edis jailed him for three years and four months but said the Parole Board will decide when he should be released back into the community.
In a statement issued on behalf of Jamie's mother Denise, a spokesperson from the Justice for James campaign, described the length of the sentence as "a farce".
Venables was turned down for parole in 2020 after serving his minimum 40 months’ sentence but has made a new bid for freedom.
With her son’s killer potentially days from freedom, Denise has begged Ms Truss to honour a previous Tory vow to tighten parole laws for dangerous criminals and warned that Venables "poses a serious danger to families". She wants the PM to step in and ensure Venables is not freed.
Venables, 40, has a parole hearing looming and could be back on the streets if it is felt he is rehabilitated, having served his minimum sentence for possessing child sex abuse images.
Denise, 53, had held a landmark meeting with then Justice Secretary Dominic Raab in June, who promised stricter legislation around the parole given to dangerous offenders.
She described it as “my biggest step forward in 29 years in justice for James”. But a day after Ms Truss became PM last month, she sacked Mr Raab and shelved the planned Bill of Rights reform, which included laws to strengthen the powers of ministers to veto the release of high-risk prisoners.
New Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis can still intervene to halt Venables’ freedom. Denise said: “We need the Prime Minister or her new Justice Secretary to step in immediately to make sure my son’s killer stays firmly behind bars where he belongs. We are calling on them to, please, intervene now.”
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