VENABLES WON’T GET OUT ALIVE
Fellow lags will rumble him
JAMES Bulger killer Jon Venables fears for his life in jail because of the high-profile nature of his crimes.
Despite attempts to hide his identity, he has already had boiling water thrown at him by another lag who worked out who he was.
And future attacks are likely because “you can’t hide in jail”, a former prison officer has warned
Venables, 35, is serving a 40-month sentence behind bars after admitting possessing more than 1,100 child abuse images.
The officer, who knew Venables during his last jail term between 2010 and 2013, said prisoners “will know who he is”.
He added: “They’ll know straightaway. Prisoners know within a short time who you are.
“On my word, you can’t hide in jail.”
The prison housing Venables, who served eight years for the murder of two-year-old James, cannot be revealed for legal reasons.
He was moved there and placed on a segregated unit for vulnerable inmates at risk of selfharm, bullying and suicide. When asked if an injunction barring publication of anything that might identify Venables would prevent him from being unmasked, the ex-officer chuckled and replied: “He’s always at risk. That’s the downside of everyone knowing your crime.”
Denise Fergus, James’s mother, has condemned the jail sentence handed to Venables as being too lenient.
She has accused the authorities of “covering up” his crimes and demanded an inquiry.