Jon Venables, one of the killers of toddler James Bulger, has been charged over indecent images of children.
The 35-year-old was recalled to prison in November and will be tried in private at an unnamed court, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
He served eight years for the murder of James, aged two, in 1993.
He and Robert Thompson tortured and killed the toddler in Liverpool, when they were both aged 10.
A CPS spokesman said: “The man formerly known as Jon Venables has been charged with offences relating to indecent images of children.
“In order that justice can be done, no further details are being released at this stage and the proceedings are subject to reporting restrictions.”
New identity
On 12 February 1993, James – just a few weeks short of his third birthday – was reported missing by his mother from outside a butcher’s shop in the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside.
CCTV images showed him being lured away by Venables and Thompson. His body was found two days later on a railway line.
He had been partially stripped and beaten to death with bricks and a metal bar.
Thompson and Venables were arrested and charged within days. They were both convicted at Preston Crown Court of James’s murder, in November 1993.
In 2001, the pair were released – with new identities – from secure children’s homes on life licence, meaning they can be recalled at any time.
Following the 35-year-old’s arrest in November, the Attorney General launched an investigation into claims his identity had been revealed on social media.
In 2013, two men who posted images they claimed were Venables and Thompson were given nine-month sentences, suspended for 15 months.
Breaking the injunction that bans identifying the pair carries a punishment of up to two years in prison.
Source: bbc.co.uk
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