Bulger killer Venables to appear on child-porn charges

Jon Venables, one of the killers of toddler James Bulger, will appear in court next month charged with child porn offences, it was confirmed today.

Venables, 27, is expected to enter his pleas to two charges through a prison videolink to the Old Bailey on July 23.

They allege he downloaded 57 indecent photographs of children on to his computer, and in doing so, made seven images available to others on the internet while the process was taking place.

The charges could not be reported until today because of an injunction imposed by Mr Justice Bean last month.

Today he lifted the injunction following an application by the media.

Gavin Millar QC, for the director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer, said he would read the charges for the record of proceedings.

He said: “A man known as Jon Venables has been charged with two offences.”

Venables was accused of downloading on to his computer 57 indecent photographs of children between February last year and February this year.

Mr Millar said a list of the photographs was on a schedule before the court.

Venables was also charged with distributing seven indecent images of children through the internet between February 1 and 23 this year.

Mr Millar said that the use of particular software meant the images had been exposed to “acquisition” by other net users searching for such material.

“There is no evidence that anybody did acquire them by that route,” he added.

Venables and Robert Thompson were jailed for life for the 1993 murder of two-year-old James, who was led away from a shopping centre in Liverpool by the then 10-year-olds.

They were jailed for life but released on licence in 2001 and given new identities.

Venables was recalled to prison in February this year, following the new allegations.