Pair sentenced after sharing information ‘about James Bulger killer’
Written by News on 31/01/2019
Two people who shared information online believed to be about one of toddler James Bulger’s killers have been spared jail.
Richard McKeag, 28, and Natalie Barker, 36, were both given suspended sentences after they admitted breaching an injunction meant to stop Jon Venables’ identity becoming public.
At the High Court, Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, sitting with Mr Justice Warby, handed McKeag a 12-month jail sentence, while Barker got eight months.
The terms were suspended for two years.
There is a court order in England and Wales banning the publication of anything that reveals the identities of Venables and fellow killer Robert Thompson.
The pair were aged 10 when they kidnapped, tortured and murdered two-year-old James in the town of Bootle, Merseyside in 1993.
Venables and Thompson have been living anonymously with new identities since being released from a life sentence.
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox QC, who brought contempt proceedings against McKeag and Barker last year, said after the hearing: “These are both serious examples of contempt of court and I instigated these proceedings as it was in the wider public interest to do so.
“The injunction protects the identities of the offenders, but also innocent individuals who may be wrongly identified as being one of the two men and placed in danger as a result.
“I will review any further contempt of court allegations made to me and hope this sends a message to anyone tempted to do the same thing.
“Posting this material online is a crime.”
(c) Sky News 2019: Pair sentenced after sharing information ‘about James Bulger killer’
