James Bulger killer Jon Venables will face 'strictest ever parole' if released

01 December 2023 , 19:35

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Jon Venables could be given parole in two weeks (Image: PA)

James Bulger murderer Jon Venables may have the “strictest conditions ever” if he gets parole, claim experts.

A decision on whether to release the notorious toddler killer from jail has been delayed by two weeks. The Parole Board hearing for Jon Venables took place in mid-November and a decision was expected this week on whether he is deemed safe enough to be freed, but that has now been put off.

If he gets parole and is back out on the streets by Christmas, then he is likely to face some of the most stringent rules including lie detector tests, limits on travel and restrictions on his use of the internet so he can't access child pornography.

Criminal lawyer Mike Neville, a former police officer, reportedly said that he would have “very heavy monitoring and restriction to his movement” that may mean he he had to live in a “pre-ordained place”.

James Bulger was killed in 1993 (PA)

The CEO of Neville Forensic Recognition told the Mail: “There'll be limits on his use of the internet, particularly the dark web, and possession of laptops and mobile phones. He'll also be stopped from going within a certain distance of a school. They might well be the strictest conditions ever but they need to be enforced. There's not enough police and probation officers to monitor all the sex offenders that have been released."

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And Ian Acheson, a former prison governor, said that the key area would be around what he is viewing online. "Looking at the hierarchy of risk the most important thing to prevent him from doing is downloading, viewing or distributing online material. There will be huge restrictions around his ability to do that," he reportedly said.

"I would expect there to be extremely stringent rules around his access to IT and he'd probably be forbidden to have any kind of relationship with a minor. I'm sure he'd be subject to multi-agency public protection arrangements if he was released into the community. Although the fact the probation service has been decimated by cuts is an issue."

Venables was jailed alongside Robert Thompson in November 1993 at the age of 10 for the harrowing murder of two-year-old James after they snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside. He was released on licence in July 2001 and recalled to prison in February 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer. Venables was again released in August 2013 and then called back in November 2017 for the same offence. His most recent parole review was in September 2020.

Tim Hanlon