Jon Venables - is 2 years enough??

Killer Venables Could Get £250K New Identity
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9:55am UK, Saturday July 24, 2010

Kat Higgins, Sky News Online

James Bulger's killer Jon Venables will be given another new identity at a cost of £250,000 to the taxpayer, according to reports.Venables was jailed for two years on Friday after pleading guilty at the Old Bailey to downloading pornographic images of young children.

He and Robert Thompson were released on licence in 2001 after being given life sentences in 1993 for the murder of toddler James Bulger in Merseyside when they were just 10.

The pair had been given new identities and extensive measures were taken to make sure they were protected from vigilantes as they became national hate figures.

The Daily Telegraph has now reported Venables, 27, will once again be issued with a new birth certificate, national insurance number and other documents when he is released.

The newspaper estimated the cost of creating the new identity could reach £250,000, with close supervision from probation officers adding another £1m.



Venables was sentenced to life aged 10


Venables appeared via video-link at the Old Bailey on Friday, and under unprecedented secrecy, was visible only to the judge.

He spoke just four words in court - answering "yes" to his name and pleading "guilty" to three child pornography charges.

Following his sentence, some media organisations had applied to be able to report his new name.

But the killer's lawyers voiced concerns that Venables' life would be seriously in danger if his identity did become public.


He spoke clearly and confidently when asked to respond to the child pornography charges he faced. He said the word "guilty" three times.

Sky News' Tom Parmenter on a "phantom" court appearance
It was claimed this would put him at further risk from attack in prison and could mean he would have to adopt another persona on his eventual release.

But a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said it did not accept it was "inevitable" Venables would be given a new identity.

She said: "Such a change of identity is extremely rare and granted only when the police assess that there is clear and credible evidence of a sustained threat to the offender's life on release into the community."

It has also emerged the Ministry of Justice will hold a review into how Venables was supervised after his release on licence in 2001.



Toddler James Bulger was tortured and killed in 1993


The handling of the situation by police, probation officers and other agencies will be scrutinised.

At the Old Bailey, it was revealed that Venables had been living in Cheshire and the images were only found on his computer when he invited a probation officer to his home to discuss concerns that his identity had been discovered.

The 27-year-old was found trying to remove his hard drive with a tin opener.

The court also heard that he had been under curfew after being arrested for fighting in 2008 and was also cautioned for possessing a small amount of cocaine.

The review will examine whether these two circumstances should have led to him being jailed for breaching his licence. It is expected to last three months.





And this ffrom Maritin Brun - Life of Crime blog:

Jon Venables And The Question Of ParoleShare
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Jon Venables And The Question Of Parole


Martin Brunt
July 23, 2010 3:06 PM



Jon Venables is unlikely to be paroled in a year's time, though he'll be entitled to ask for it.

The Parole Board will take into account his two arrests in 2008 when he was held but not charged over a street brawl and cocaine possession.

He got a warning and a caution for those and although they didn't merit a return to prison they are evidence of a pattern of bad behaviour.

And his victim James Bulger's mum Denise will get her say about freeing him.

She's already said his new sentence is way too short.

I can't possibly repeat some of the grim detail of his child porn crimes.

All of this is likely to keep Venables locked up for a lot longer than a year.

I had heard he was in Stockport a few months ago. I cant find my post about it. On the news last night it said he had been living in the Cheshire area which would fit in.

I dont know what the answer is re new identities. Giving someone a new identity only protects them - it doesnt protect the public. So the safety of one is put before the safety of many.

I think Venables should be kept inside this time.

littlepixie wrote:I had heard he was in Stockport a few months ago. I cant find my post about it. On the news last night it said he had been living in the Cheshire area which would fit in.

I dont know what the answer is re new identities. Giving someone a new identity only protects them - it doesnt protect the public. So the safety of one is put before the safety of many.

I think Venables should be kept inside this time.

Agree 110% Littlepixie. He's seriously mentally sick, is a danger to society and can easily be detained indefinitely He could even keep Ian Brady company.

He was only 10 years old when he and Thompson murdered James - why on earth couldn't the authorities manage to rehabilitate him? And if he wasn't rehabilitateable then why was he allowed out on the streets?

Poor Denise - her misery has been going on for 17 years, why don't the authorities ask her what she'd like to happen to the people who killed her baby?

ufercoffy wrote:He was only 10 years old when he and Thompson murdered James - why on earth couldn't the authorities manage to rehabilitate him? And if he wasn't rehabilitateable then why was he allowed out on the streets?

Poor Denise - her misery has been going on for 17 years, why don't the authorities ask her what she'd like to happen to the people who killed her baby?

Venables defied their, presumably, best efforts - this is someone who cannot be rehabilitated (imho), he's mentally deranged and probably untreatable. There are plenty detained indefinitely in Ashworth - alongside Ian Brady. My heart goes out to the parents of Jamie.

We must remember that laws are made primarily to best serve those who may fall foul of them.

Therefore, jailing Venables indefinitely for these heinous crimes would scupper the Establishment's current plans to eventually manage all paedophiles in their own homes. Passing a life sentence to Venables would seriously perturb some of the most prominent people in society whose role it is to create policy and laws for themselves.

Judge Mental wrote:We must remember that laws are made primarily to best serve those who may fall foul of them.

Therefore, jailing Venables indefinitely for these heinous crimes would scupper the Establishment's current plans to eventually manage all paedophiles in their own homes. Passing a life sentence to Venables would seriously perturb some of the most prominent people in society whose role it is to create policy and laws for themselves.

True - but Venables has "history" - he's a murderer, out on licence - and prior to this latest conviction he was arrested twice but "let off". Do you really think that he'll be fit to let loose on society in 2 years time?? Sorry, but imho, they should lock him up and throw away the key.

Someone asked why he wasn't rehabilitated. Well the short answer to that is that you can't always 'fix' things that are broken. Venables is beyond repair and I doubt the 'authorities' of the time could fathom what to do with him. How could they? I agree with the poster who said he should be locked up in a secure unit, such as Ashworth.

That he can't forge a relationship with women is no excuse for assuming another persona with which to trade obscene pictures of young children. What an appalling defence. He should be locked up for his own safety and that of young children who happen to be in his way.

Doceedo wrote:

Judge Mental wrote:We must remember that laws are made primarily to best serve those who may fall foul of them.

Therefore, jailing Venables indefinitely for these heinous crimes would scupper the Establishment's current plans to eventually manage all paedophiles in their own homes. Passing a life sentence to Venables would seriously perturb some of the most prominent people in society whose role it is to create policy and laws for themselves.

True - but Venables has "history" - he's a murderer, out on licence - and prior to this latest conviction he was arrested twice but "let off". Do you really think that he'll be fit to let loose on society in 2 years time?? Sorry, but imho, they should lock him up and throw away the key.

One cannot turn off or suppress one's sexuality and sexual preferences. A paedophile will always find children or babies sexually attractive, no matter how many doses of bromide we afford them. The easiest way to understand the way a paedophile mind works is to imagine how the average Alpha male would react if he was denied his preference for women and told that by law he could only copulate with men. Alternatively, how would we expect a lesbian to react, were she to be told by law that she could only have sexual relations with men?

My own thoughts on what should be done with paedophiles, are not at all representative of those people who have the absolute power to do something about it. One believes that paedophiles should be removed from society promptly and placed in secure purpose-built villages, where there are no babies or children. Although we will never be able to change the mind-sets and imaginations of paedophiles, we can at least eradicate the risk of actual harm.

One was horrified recently to see a senior psychiatrist declare that a doctor was believed to be 'cured' of his penchant for children. Apparently, this doctor's lust for children was brought on by stress.

If those with the power to make changes are going to use such ridiculous and pathetic excuses for doctors who work within the NHS, what hope is there of bringing down those paedophiles who are at the very top of our authorities and Establishment?

the sad answer to that is - none. As long as the Press and the Police collude with covering up paedophilia.

Why should the long suffering tax\payer have to pay for ANOTHER new identity? If he buggered up the last one then tough cookie,he had the chance f----d it up now he needs to bloody live with it.Sorry but it makes me so mad that the criminals rank above the victims/potential victims.

It makes me mad that survivors of abuse sometimes have to wait ages to get any counselling and support because of the long waiting lists by charities struggling to provide a service on limited resources and sometimes hardly any funding - the money used to protect Venables should be given to charities helping victims of abuse and pay for counselling so that they are able to have the choice of receiving help as soon as they disclose abuse. Wouldnt it just be great to put the victims first for once before the abusers!

Paedophiles are protected by the Police once they have abused a child. By protecting them it gives them absolute cover to abuse again on release from Prison. Sara Payne is so right IMO.

Apart from down and up loading child porn, what did Venables do?