James Bulger’s Killer Jon Venables Denied Release in UK Over Risk to Children
Jon Venables, one of the killers of two-year-old James Bulger, will remain in prison after the UK’s Parole Board concluded that he still poses a risk to children.
Findings published on Monday, November 9, followed a three-day private hearing last month. Venables, 44, told the panel he was not seeking release because he accepted that further work addressing his offending was needed in custody.
Panel Identifies Continuing Risks
The panel raised concerns about the possibility of Venables accessing child sexual abuse images again and potentially committing offences involving direct contact with children.
It also questioned how openly and honestly he would cooperate with probation supervision if released.
Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 when they abducted and murdered James in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993.
Venables was released on licence in 2001 but recalled to prison in 2010 over child sexual abuse images. He was released again in 2013 and returned to custody in 2017 for further offences involving such images.
