City man defends decision to publish photos of Bulger killer

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A CITY man has defended his decision to publish photos he claims expose the new identity of child killer Jon Venables.

Despite a life-long court ban on such material appearing, he claims he has done nothing wrong.

The pictures, which are said to show 28-year-old Venables as an adult, were published online last week, along with personal details.

Such information has specifically been banned to protect Venables' secret ID – an order made following his 2001 release from jail on licence.

The man, who the Echo cannot name for legal reasons, said the photos had been viewed by one million people since they were published.

His website also cannot be named due to a gagging order protecting Venables' identity.

The site was unavailable yesterday . It is not known whether it has been removed by the internet provider.

Jon Venables was just 10 years old when he and Robert Thompson lured James Bulger, aged two, from a Merseyside shopping mall before killing the toddler in 1993.

The publication of the images comes weeks before Venables becomes eligible for parole after being back behind bars for possessing indecent images of children.

The pictures are said to be of Venables before his re-arrest last year.

The Exeter man told the Echo he wanted to protect the "rights of victims and survivors".

"I exposed Jon Venables last week, including pictures of him and the story running up to when he got arrested for child pornography," he said.

"I have had one million hits.

"I've spoken to the mother of James Bulger. Venables' parole hearing is coming up soon and he could be released, meaning he will be back in society.

"He will be paid by the Government and doesn't have to work.

"He is given everything to maintain a good standard of living – we don't think this is right. He is a child murderer.

"I've had public reaction to the photos already – I've got a massive following, it's been overwhelming.

"This isn't about Venables or offenders, it's about the rights of survivors and victims."

He added: "There is no gagging order on me, I'm not the media.

"I'm not breaking any laws. The victim and survivor is always left at court, whether or not they get a sentence that serves justice.

"There is very little support for them afterwards."

Relatives of James Bulger have welcomed the publication of the images.

A court order bans their identification for life, despite outrage that families may be put at risk. A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said they were not investigating the publication of the images by an Exeter man and had received no complaints from the public.