James Bulger killer Jon Venables granted parole board hearing | UK News

20. September 2023

Jon Venables was 10-years-old when he killed James Bulger (Picture: BWP Media)

James Bulger’s killer Jon Venables has been granted a parole hearing.

Venables, now 40, and Robert Thompson, were both aged 10 when they tortured and killed two-year-old James before leaving his mutilated body on a railway track in Liverpool in 1993.

Both were released from prison in 2001 but Venables has been recalled to prison twice, in 2010 and 2017, for being in possession of more than 1,000 indecent images of children.

He was sentenced to 40 months in prison in February 2018.

Venables admitted to having 392 category A, 148 category B and 630 category C images.

He also pleaded guilty to having a paedophile manual on or before 17 November 2017.

A number of the images were of crimes against young boys, which were ‘heartbreaking for any ordinary person to see’, a judge said.

The parole hearing will take place on November 14 and 15, but it will not be heard in public.

James Bulger was killed. Jon Venables - one of the killers of the toddler - was recalled to custody last week after breaching the terms of his release from prison. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Wednesday March 3, 2010. See PA story PRISONS Venables. Photo credit should read: PA Wire BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE. Undated file photo — James Bulger was tortured and killed before his body was left on railway tracks in Liverpool (Credits: PA)

Denise Fergus, the mother of murdered toddler James Bulger, outside the Old Bailey in London, after one of his killers, Jon Venables, has been jailed at the Old Bailey for 40 months after he admitted having more than a thousand indecent images of children and a child abuse manual. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday February 7, 2018. See PA story COURTS Bulger. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire — A victim impact statement from Denise Fergus, the mother of murdered toddler James Bulger, will also be heard (Picture: PA)

If Venables is released, he could be back on the streets by Christmas under a new name.

A Parole Board spokesperson said: ‘An oral hearing has been listed for the parole review of Jon Venables and is scheduled to take place in November 2023.

‘Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.

‘A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.

391286 02: FILE PHOTO: Jon Venables, 10 years of age, poses for a mugshot for British authorities February 20, 1993 in the United Kingdom. Both Venables and Robert Thompson were 10 years-old when they tortured and killed 2 year-old James Bulger in Bootle, England. The government announced the release of the young men, now the age of 18, despite a public outcry to keep them in jail, June 22, 2001. The boys will be given new identities which a judge has barred the British media from disclosing. (Photo Courtesy of BWP Media via Getty Images) — Venables has been recalled to prison twice for possessing indecent images of children (Picture: BWP Media)

‘Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing.’

The panel will also hear evidence from prison officers and psychiatrists.

Victim impact statements from James’s parents Denise Fergus and Ralph Bulger will also be read, MailOnline reports.

Denise Fergus said: ‘If you let him free, you could be ruining the lives of another family like ours.

The dark and murky crime scene where James Bulger's body was found on a railway line. Members of the emergency services, including police and firemen, stand on the tracks next to a forensic tent and lighting behind police cordon tape. . REXMAILPIX. . Image stored in box 20569353/CH18401 — James’s body was found mutilated on a railway line (Picture: Daily Mail)

‘When you look at Venables’s file just remember what he is capable of. He killed my son James, has reoffended time and time again and I have no doubt he would kill another child if he is released.’

The hearing may be the last time Venables can appeal before new parole reforms come before parliament.

Under the Victims and Prisoners Bill proposed by former justice Secretary Dominic Raab, reoffending criminals considered dangerous will never be released from prison.

But Ralph Bulger said victims must be able to attend parole hearings.