Jon Venables, who now has lifelong anonymity, in a custody image at the time of his arrest over the killing of toddler James Bulger in February 1993. Photo / Getty
Jon Venables, who now has lifelong anonymity, in a custody image at the time of his arrest over the killing of toddler James Bulger in February 1993. Photo / Getty
The mother of murdered toddler James Bulger has accused the criminal justice system of "collusion and cover-up" after it emerged one of her son's killers was not prosecuted for breaching a ban on accessing the internet.
Jon Venables might still have been behind bars had the Crown Prosecution Service decided to prosecute him two years ago for breaching the terms of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) preventing him going online.
James Bulger's mother Denise Fergus, pictured in 2008, has called for a public inquiry into Jon Venables' case. Photo / Getty
Instead he was arrested in July last year on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children, including a paedophile manual downloaded from the internet on how to "have sex with little girls . . . safely."
Venables, now 36, was on Wednesday sentenced at the Old Bailey to a further three years and four months (40 months) in prison after pleading guilty to downloading explicitly indecent images.
It emerged in court that in June 2015 the CPS had decided not to prosecute Venables for breaching his SOPO. It is further understood the Probation Service did not regard the offence as serious enough to warrant an immediate return to prison.
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, both 10, were caught on CCTV at the shopping mall where they abducted James. Photo / Getty
Instead he was simply cautioned, and remained on licence for an earlier offence of being in possession of dozens of hard-core indecent images of children and posing in an online chat room as a woman offering up her eight-year-old daughter for sexual abuse.
Two-year-old son James was tortured and murdered by the then 10-year-old Venables and Robert Thompson, also 10, after they abducted him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, on February 12, 1993.
The two killers were sentenced to detention at her Majesty's pleasure and released on licence in 2001, at the age of 18.
James' mother Denise Fergus said yesterday: "We heard in court Venables breached his parole terms in 2015 by gaining access to the internet.
"However, we also heard this was covered up in that authorities dealt with him by way of a police caution rather than him being brought back to court for a breach of his parole.".
Speaking through Chris Johnson, of the Justice for James Campaign, Ms Fergus called for a public inquiry into the case, describing the earlier decision not to prosecute as "fundamentally wrong and part of a pattern of collusion between the authorities and Venables".
James Bulger was 2 when he was murdered in 1993.
Police arrested Venables during a routine search of his home in the West Midlands in July last year, during which officers found his lap top hidden behind the head board of his bed.
An examination of the HP computer found a total of 1170 indecent images of children, with a third of them of the most serious nature, involving adults, including women, raping and abusing children aged 6 to 13.
Police also found a manual downloaded from the 'dark web', which purported to offer advice to paedophiles on how to have sex with children as young as two without leaving physical marks.
Louis Mably QC, prosecuting, described the manual as "a disgusting and sickening document which falls far below any recognised standards of morality".
Following his arrest Venables, who was employed at the time, told officers: "This is my own fault . . . I've let people down again. I've had stupid urges, inquisitive. I'm not going to be seeing this for a lot of years, it won't be a slap on the wrist for me."
Sentencing Venables, Justice Edis said possession of the manual marked a significant worsening of his offending behaviour, a it suggested his state of mind was moving towards the abuse of children in "the real world".
Justice Edis told Venables: "It is a different kind of thing from the images and films because its purpose is to inspire actual offending."
The grave of murdered James Bulger in Kirkdale Cemetary in Liverpool. Photo / Getty
He added: "The children depicted were often very young and vulnerable, there is discernible pain and distress suffered by some of the children depicted.
"This case is unique because when you were 10 years old you took part in the brutal murder and torture of James Bulger.
"That was a crime which revolted the nation and which continues to do so even after the 25 years that has passed since it happened."
He said that "only a custodial sentence will suffice", adding: "Your difficulties in living in the community are obvious, but you do not have the mitigation that you only offended on one day. Your offending went back some months and required ingenuity to keep it hidden."
But Fergus, who had sat impassively in court during the proceedings, criticised the length of the sentence.
Ralph Bulger, the father of James Bulger, pictured in 2011. Photo / Getty
She said: "Three years is really a farce because this is reoffending and there is a pattern to this behaviour. We believe he should have got at least double for a similar offence of two years. He will be leaving the court today believing he got away with it."
Speaking outside the Central Criminal Court James' father Ralph - who is planning a legal challenge to the earlier decision to give Venables lifetime anonymity - said: "Forty months is a joke. This sexual deviant is just looking for another victim. Let's not have any more victims."
Johnson added: "There should be no further collusion or attempts to cover up his offending behaviour. If rebailed, he must be kept on a very tight leash."
Questions are now being asked as to why Venables was being monitored closely enough while on licence.
Harry Fletcher, the Victims Rights Campaigner and former probation officer, said: "While you can't keep someone under 24 hour surveillance there was clearly not the level of monitoring going on here to prevent this offending taking place."
