Man lies on Facebook over Bulger killer Thompson

Robert Thompson's new identity is protected

A teenager has admitted spreading false rumours about the location of one of James Bulger's killers.

Wayne Vincent Dale, of the Isle Of Man, has been convicted of lying about the whereabouts of Robert Thompson, who has been given a new identity.

Dale, 19, sent a message on Facebook falsely claiming that Thompson was a B&Q employee on the island.

Thompson was convicted along with Jon Venables, both aged 10 at the time, of murdering James in Liverpool in 1993.

Police traced the message to Dale, of Ballacannell Estate in Lonan.

Money stolen

He was charged with using provoking behaviour, which he admitted in court.

He will be sentenced at the Isle of Man courts on 23 April.

Detectives said Dale made the false accusations on two separate occasions on 30 October last year - once on Facebook, and another face to face.

He also admitted stealing £1,100 from his girlfriend's house when he was on bail for spreading the false rumour.

Two-year-old James was abducted by Venables and Thompson while at the Strand shopping centre in Bootle.

His battered body was found by children playing on a freight railway line more than two miles from the shopping centre.

The killers were given life sentences, but released in 2001 with new identities and under certain licence conditions.

Venables was recalled to prison in February for breaching his licence conditions.