Bulger killer Jon Venables back in jail over child abuse images

Murdered toddler’s mother criticises probation service for ‘covering up’ arrest

Jon Venables
Jon Venables shortly after his 1993 arrest
(Image credit: Merseyside Police/Getty Images)

Child killer Jon Venables has reportedly been sent back to prison after being caught with child abuse images on his computer for a second time.

The 35-year-old, who killed toddler James Bulger in 1993, was also jailed in 2010 after pleading guilty to charges of downloading and distributing child pornography.

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Venables was first jailed at the age of ten, along with his peer Robert Thompson, after they were found guilty of kidnapping, torturing and murdering two-year-old Bulger in Liverpool. Both men were released at the age of 18.

Denise Fergus, Bulger’s mother, told Sky News today that Venables’ third arrest “proves beyond any doubt what a vile, perverted psychopath he has always been”. She also criticised the probation service, saying she warned them that Venables would reoffend unless they kept a tight rein on him.

“What hurts me most,” she added, in a statement, “is the way the probation service has tried to cover this up. Venables was taken back into custody a week ago, yet I was only informed hours before it hit the press.”

The Ministry of Justice declined to comment to The Guardian.

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