The heartbroken father of murdered toddler James Bulger has cried as he pleaded with probation chiefs to keep one of the toddler’s killers behind bars.
Ralph Bulger’s life was ‘destroyed’ 30 years ago when young James, two, was kidnapped from a Merseyside shopping center on February 12, 1993 by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson.
Venables has a parole hearing scheduled for next month and could be free by Christmas. But speaking to TalkTV on Monday, Mr Bulger tearfully begged the government to keep the killer behind bars, adding that otherwise “the justice system has failed”.
Mr Bulger, who once sought to challenge a court order granting Venables lifelong anonymity, told Jeremy Kyle and Nicola Thorp that “every child is at risk” if the “ticking time bomb” killer is ever allowed to walk free.
Venables has been jailed twice since his release. He is currently languishing in prison after being recalled in 2017 on charges of possessing indecent images of children, for which he was later convicted.
Thompson and Venables tortured two-year-old James (pictured). The brutal attack on the innocent toddler included throwing paint in his eye, pelting him with stones and bricks and dropping an iron bar on his head
Jon Venables (pictured) could be free by Christmas with his parole hearing scheduled for November 14 and 15 this year
Robert Thompson is believed to have not reoffended since being released from prison in 2001
This is the second time he has been convicted of possessing child pornography, after being convicted in 2010.
A 2020 bid for freedom was rejected, but Venables will seek release again at a two-day hearing on November 14 and 15.
Mr Bulger said of the killer’s upcoming hearing: ‘I think you should do everything you can to keep him behind bars because he has been a danger from day one.
‘He has been insulted again. For me, I think he enjoys what he does. I think he’s a ticking time bomb, ready to go off.’
He continued, “Every child, in my opinion, is at risk when he’s gone.”
James was just two years old when he was murdered by Thompson and Venables after being snatched from the Bootle Strand shopping centre.
The pair were seen by 38 people, including two who wondered if James was okay as he had a bump on his head and was crying.
But Venables and Thompson, who were both ten at the time, then brutally tortured the boy: they threw paint in his eyes, pelted him with stones and dropped an iron bar on his head.
They then left his broken body on a railway line in a twisted attempt to cover up their crimes.
The couple’s names and photos were released after they were convicted – a rare exception for cases involving children.
But after their release, they were given new identities under a witness protection system, which included new passports, social security numbers and even forged birth certificates.
Mr Bulger wiped away tears as he told TalkTV that his son’s death at the hands of Venables and Thompson “destroyed him”. He begged the justice chiefs to keep (Venables) in jail
The now infamous image of James Bulger being led away from Bootle Strand shopping center by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson on February 12, 1993
A source told the Mail that James’ mother Denise Fergus, 54, had not been informed of the date of the hearing before it appeared in the media. “She is shocked,” they said. Pictured above is James Bulger
James’ mother, Denise Fergus, 55, has been left ‘shell shocked’ after it was revealed a hearing into Venables’ release would take place in November.
A global ban remains in place, preventing the media from identifying Venables or Thompson by their new identities.
It is believed Thompson has not reoffended since being released from prison in 2001. But Mr Bulger has sought to have Venables’ lifelong anonymity order lifted after the killer re-offended several times, arguing the order was only imposed because the pair had been ‘rehabilitated’. ‘.
But a judge denied his bid in 2019, saying the order prevented Venables from being “put to death.”
Pausing occasionally as his voice caught, and wiping away tears, Mr. Bulger said the killing “destroyed” him, and that “keeping him in jail” would give him peace.
About the murder, he added: “You actually have to keep it under wraps. It’s hard, but I find that if I keep my mind on work, the memories of what happened don’t come back.
“(I) just go day by day. You just have to put one foot in front of the other and just do your best.”
And when asked why he continues to fight, Mr Bulger said: ‘That’s for James and to make sure it doesn’t really happen again – if there’s anything I can do to stop it happening again, I will do what I can.
“I do this for the families and other lives, so the piles get so big you have to keep it in,” adding his frustration with the parole board, “I’ve been fighting this for 30 years and you just can’t get by .’
About Venables, Ralph continued, “They cannot be rehabilitated. They spent millions on him and that’s their little project gone wrong, you know what I mean?
“And it has proven wrong over the years, as have the ways in which he reoffends. He loves what he does, he enjoys it.
‘From top to bottom he wants to have another child. That’s how I feel deeply.’
TalkTV presenter Jeremy Kyle urged Justice Secretary Alex Chalk to keep Venables locked up, adding: ‘I would like someone… to explain (why) that victim’s father has to appear on a television program to evidence… that man must remain behind bars.’
Venables was originally sentenced to imprisonment at Her Majesty’s pleasure – essentially indefinitely.
Kyle concluded the interview by asking Mr. Bulger, “Should life mean life?”
Ralph replied, “Yes. Certainly. For something like that.’
Mr Bulger’s call for Venables to remain locked up comes after James’ mother, Denise Fergus, was said to be ‘shell shocked’ by the news of his latest parole hearing.
She previously said: ‘I have no doubt he would kill another child if released.’
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