Jon Venables, one of the killers of two-year-old James Bulger, is set for a parole hearing next month as shocking details of his life in custody emerge, including a sexual relationship with a female prison staff member.
A Life Built on Deception
Venables, who was just ten years old when he was sentenced for the 1993 murder, was given a new identity upon his initial release in 2001. This was part of an extensive protection programme, likened to witness protection, designed to shield him from revenge attacks. He was provided with fabricated documents, including passports and national insurance numbers, and even received police training in counter-surveillance techniques.
However, this carefully constructed facade began to crumble. In February 2010, during a night out at a city centre pub, a 27-year-old Venables drunkenly confessed to friends, stating, "I am not who you think I am. I am really Jon Venables." The following day, in a panic, he called his probation officer and admitted he had "blown his cover."
Misconduct and Mistakes Behind Bars
While serving his initial sentence at Red Bank Community Home in Merseyside, Venables was instructed to tell fellow inmates he was in for car theft, not murder. During this time, as a teenager, he entered into a sexual relationship with a female member of the prison staff. The woman, who was meant to act as a "substitute parent," was suspended for sexual misconduct and did not return to her job.
Further concerns about his inability to maintain his false identity were raised ahead of his release. At a dentist appointment, he gave his real date of birth, prompting staff to question in a note: "Where will this deception end?"
A Cycle of Re-offending and Parole Battles
Venables' 2010 identity slip led to a more sinister discovery. When officials visited his home after his panicked call, they found him trying to remove his computer's hard drive with a tin-opener. The device was found to contain child abuse images, leading to a further two-year sentence. He was released again in 2013, only to be arrested once more in 2017.
In February 2018, Venables pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children and a "paedophile manual." Mr Justice Edis, sentencing him to 40 months at the Old Bailey, stated the manual suggested Venables was "contemplating the possibility of moving on to actual sexual crime against children."
His last parole bid in December 2023 was rejected after a panel ruled he was "still a danger to children" and "could not be trusted," noting "continuing issues of sexual preoccupation." He skipped that hearing, stating that seeing James Bulger's family would harm his mental health.
A Mother's Agony and a New Hearing
James Bulger's mother, Denise Fergus, 57, has spoken of her "distress" and "anger" at the upcoming parole hearing. She plans to warn the board that Venables is now "bigger and stronger" and has been "educated to lie to his back teeth."
"My worry is that if he’s released, he’ll lose that protection, he’ll be looking over his shoulder the whole time," she said. Denise will attend the hearing, marking the first time in over 30 years she will hear her son's killer's voice, a process her spokesperson said "reopens unimaginable trauma."
If the parole board decides to release Venables, the taxpayer will fund yet another new identity for him, continuing the complex and costly legacy of one of Britain's most notorious crimes.
