‘Breach’ of court order banning identifying killers of James Bulger investigated
Written by News on 05/12/2017
An investigation has been launched into a potential breach of a court order which bans identifying the killers of toddler James Bulger.
Under the terms of the worldwide injunction, media and individuals cannot publish images which claim to be of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, with any breach carrying a prison sentence of up to two years.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office confirmed to Sky News a complaint had been received and an investigation was under way.
Classmates Venables and Thompson were jailed for the abduction, torture and murder of two-year-old James in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993.
In a crime that shocked the country due to its barbarity, the pair led the toddler away from a shopping centre while his mother was distracted, tortured him and left him to die on railway tracks.
The pair were given life-long anonymity when they were released from prison with new identities in 2001.
Venables, now 35, went on to offend again, including arrests for affray and possession of cocaine in 2008.
In 2010, he was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to downloading images of child abuse.
Venables, who was reportedly given a second new identity after his first alias was revealed, was granted parole in 2013.
Last month, it was revealed Venables has been returned to prison after being caught with child abuse images for a second time.
In 2013, two men who posted images they claimed to be of Venables and Thompson were given nine-month sentences, suspended for 15 months.
(c) Sky News 2017: ‘Breach’ of court order banning identifying killers of James Bulger investigated
