Outcry at secret trial for Bulger killer on child porn charges
Met and CPS prepared to resubmit three rape and sexual assault cases that were not heard at trial
A ROW over the criminal justice system broke out last night when the Crown Prosecution Service announced that one of the killers of James Bulger is to be tried in secret after being charged over indecent images of children.
Jon Venables was returned to prison in November after he was allegedly caught with child abuse images.
The CPS released a statement yesterday revealing that he had been charged and was to face trial at an unnamed court at an unspecified date this year.
Venables enjoys lifelong anonymity following his conviction for the murder of two-year-old James when he was himself aged 10.
The details of the secret trial were announced as it emerged police are likely to face a huge bill to protect and supervise John Worboys, the convicted serial rapist, when he is released from prison after serving less than 10 years.
The CPS statement said: “The man formerly known as Jon Venables has been charged with offences relating to indecent images of children and will appear in the Crown Court.
“In order that justice can be done, no further details are being released at this stage and the proceedings are subject to reporting restrictions.”
Secret trials are controversial as they run counter to the principle that justice must be seen to be done.
Jodie Blackstock, of Justice, the pressure group, said: “The principle of open justice is integral to the operation of our courts… it ensures that justice is seen to be done, safeguards against arbitrary decision-making and maintains public confidence in the justice system. Fair and accurate reporting of court proceedings enables wider public scrutiny of the charging and trial process. Any departure from this must be for exceptional reasons.”
Robert Mendick
Kate Mccann
POLICE and prosecutors indicated last night they were prepared to bring fresh charges against John Worboys, the “black cab rapist”, amid a growing furore over why dozens of crimes were never brought to trial in the first place.
Police issued an appeal for information that could lead to a fresh investigation into Worboys, one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said three rape and sex assault cases dating back to Worboys’s conviction but not presented at trial could now be used against him.
The CPS suggested the Metropolitan Police could resubmit the files dating back to 2009, when Worboys was jailed for a minimum of eight years.
The Parole Board’s decision to sanction Worboys’s release by the end of the month has devastated his victims, who have complained they were not informed of the decision. One victim said: “Regardless of his parole conditions, I don’t think I would feel safe. It’s a really sickening thought that he will be on the streets again.”
The mother of another victim said it was alarming to think that Worboys as a former cab driver had taken women to their home addresses. “He’s a serial rapist and he knows where she [my daughter] lives,” said the mother.
The taxpayer will now have to foot the substantial bill keeping Worboys, 60, under surveillance when he moves to a bail hostel in the community.
Harry Fletcher, a former leader of the probation union Napo and who now runs Victims’ Rights Campaign, said: “Worboys will be allowed out during the day under the terms of his release. Police will have to mount covert surveillance both to protect him and the public. The cost is enormous.”
Last night Richard Scorer, a specialist abuse lawyer with Slater Gordon, a law firm, who represents 11 of Worboys’s victims, questioned why more historic allegations could not be revived that could keep Worboys in jail.
In 2010, police said they believed he had committed more than 100 rapes and sexual assaults while a taxi driver in London. Worboys, a former stripper, drugged his victims and then raped them, keeping a “rape kit” in his boot. Mr Scorer said: “I don’t see why police cannot reopen these cases. Of my clients, Worboys was charged with offences against three while eight have not been heard in court.”
Mr Scorer said Worboys had never shown remorse either during the criminal trial in 2009 or in the course of a civil claim against him four years later.
He added: “If he still denies his crimes, then he clearly poses a continuing risk. If he admits that he deliberately and systematically drugged and raped women, then the police need to look at whether there are any crimes that he was not convicted of and seek justice for those victims.” The Parole Board has declined to give details of the process that led to approval of his release.
Lord Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, said: “There is nothing to stop police examining cases and submit it to the CPS. There is no statute of limitation.”
At his trial, Worboys was convicted of one rape and five sexual assaults.
The CPS said that the testimony of 14 victims was used to secure conviction while a further three complaints “passed the evidential test” but it was decided they did not need to go before the courts. Those three could now be examined afresh.