A PENSIONER who claimed to have ran a pornographic website in the 1990s has avoided jail after being found with nearly 100 videos of child abuse.

Robert McKeen, 66, of Ramsey Road, Barry, was also discovered to have downloaded 1,584 images involving people having sex with animals when police raided his flat last August.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how McKeen had initially claimed that he was downloading the videos and images in order to report them to police, stating that he was well versed in the operation of legal pornographic websites having owned and ran one himself more than 20 years ago.

Although McKeen pleaded guilty to nine charges of sharing indecent images of children and four charges of possessing extreme pornography, he maintained that he found images of child abuse to be "disgusting".

Police were alerted to McKeen's activities when it was discovered he been downloading images via a peer to peer file sharing website.

When his home computer was seized they found 94 videos of horrific child abuse, featuring children as young as two, with 60 being categorised as the worst kind.

They also found 1,584 images and 12 videos of people engaging in sexual activity with animals.

He told police that when he stumbled upon images and videos he suspected to be of child abuse he would download them to confirm his suspicions and then save them in order to report them to police later.

He claimed that although he watched adult pornography on a daily basis, he did not enjoy child abuse videos.

Judge, Recorder Ian Murphy QC refuted this claim, telling McKeen: "That is child rape you were watching and you were watching them with a degree of sexual gratification involved."

With McKeen being deemed incapable of carrying out unpaid work due to his age and ill health he was sentenced to be subject to a community order, where he will undergo rehabilitation and police supervision for the next three years.

Noting that McKeen has no previous convictions Mr Murphy said: "This is something that I have considered carefully and I am of the view that there is a sufficient possibility of rehabilitation.

"There is sufficient motivation from you to engage in sexual offending work, and such work is important to address your needs and safeguard the public."

McKeen was placed on the sexual offender register for five years and ordered to pay £200 costs.