The family of James Bulger is bracing for a new wave of anguish as one of his killers, Jon Venables, prepares for a parole hearing that could see him walk free. Venables, who was just ten years old when he and Robert Thompson abducted and murdered the two-year-old in 1993, has spent most of his adult life in prison for subsequent child sex offences.
A childhood crime of unparalleled evil
On February 12, 1993, the nation was horrified by the abduction of James Bulger from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside. His mother, Denise Fergus, had momentarily looked away while paying at a butcher's shop. Captured on CCTV, ten-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were seen leading the toddler away.
They took James to a railway embankment in Walton, where they subjected him to a brutal attack, inflicting 42 separate injuries with bricks, stones, and a heavy iron bar. After the toddler died from blunt force trauma, they placed his body on railway tracks to be struck by a train. The trial judge, Mr Justice Morland, described the crime as one of “unparalleled evil and barbarity.”
Life after release: A troubled existence
Venables and Thompson were released in June 2001 on life licences with new, secret identities, akin to a witness protection programme. A psychiatric report had deemed Venables a “trivial” risk with a “very high” chance of rehabilitation. However, he was ill-prepared for adult life, having never performed basic tasks like taking a bus alone.
He struggled with employment, limited to low-paid roles to avoid CRB checks, and lived in squalid conditions. By 2007, he was abusing alcohol and drugs like cocaine. His probation officers noted concerning relationships with younger women, suggesting a “delayed adolescence.” Despite being signed off by his childhood psychiatrist in 2003, with warnings about his abnormal psychosexual development, an adult psychiatrist was deemed unnecessary due to his 'low risk' status.
A spiral into paedophilia and recall to prison
In 2010, the facade collapsed. Venables, then 27, was recalled to prison after police found vile child abuse images on his computer. He was sentenced to two years. Released in 2013, he was arrested again in 2017. By February 2018, he pleaded guilty to possessing more indecent images and a “paedophile manual.”
Sentencing him to 40 months, Mr Justice Edis stated the manual indicated Venables was “at least contemplating the possibility of moving on to actual sexual crime against children.” Of the images found, 392 were category A, the most severe grade.
The ongoing parole battle and family's torment
Venables' last parole bid was rejected in December 2023. A panel ruled he was “still a danger to children” and could not be trusted, citing “continuing issues of sexual preoccupation.” He failed to appeal.
Now, a new hearing is scheduled, forcing Denise Fergus to endure what her spokesperson calls “unimaginable trauma.” She has been granted permission to observe, where she will hear Venables' voice for the first time in over three decades.
Denise Fergus has issued a stark warning to the Parole Board, stating: “He’s not a 10-year-old anymore. He’s bigger, he’s stronger, he’s got more wits about him. He’s been educated to lie to his back teeth.” She fears for public safety if he is released and questions what he might do to be sent back to prison.
The Parole Board's summary from 2023 noted it doubted Venables’ ability to be honest with professionals and concluded he needed to address outstanding risks. The decision next month will determine if the man once released as a 'low risk' remains indefinitely behind bars.
