A 73-year-old Powys man has been spared immediate prison after police found indecent images of children and extreme animal pornography at his home.
John Agnew, of Penybont, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, when he appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates' Court on October 21.
Magistrates suspended the custodial sentence after finding there was a "realistic prospect of rehabilitation in the community."
Agnew had previously pleaded guilty to four offences in court in September, after police seized devices from his home address on February 13, 2025.
The court heard that police recovered three indecent video files of children from his devices - one Category A file, representing the most severe legal classification, and two Category B files.
He also admitted a further charge of possessing 12 extreme pornographic images depicting explicit sexual acts involving animals.
Agnew was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, for the Category A offence. Concurrent suspended sentences of six months each were imposed for the two Category B charges and the extreme pornography charge.
In addition to the suspended sentence, Agnew was made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) running until October 20, 2036. Under the terms of the order, he is restricted from using any internet-capable device without notifying police within three days, must allow police to install monitoring software on his devices, and is banned from using private browsing modes or cloud storage without police disclosure.
He was also ordered to register as a sex offender with police for 10 years.
Magistrates made a deprivation order under Section 155 of the Sentencing Act 2020 for two mobile devices seized during the investigation—a black Samsung phone and a black Huawei phone.
Agnew was ordered to pay £85 in Crown Prosecution Service costs and a £187 victim surcharge.