A TEENAGER was caught with more than 300 graphic images of child sexual abuse on devices in his bedroom, a court has heard.

Thomas Richard James, now 22, avoided a prison sentence for the offences – partly because it took more than three years to bring the case before a crown court judge.

James was 19 when was caught with the illegal pictures and videos in August 2017, when police officers raided his family home – seizing and examining his mobile phone, computer and a USB stick.

At Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday, the judge, Recorder Simon Mills, said one of the most graphic videos of child abuse was 30 minutes long.

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Byron Broadstock, prosecuting, said the children in some of the images were as young as six.

He said that in total, 385 videos and five still images were found – including 158 videos of the most serious category.

Officers also found an illegal, extreme pornographic image on James' Xbox games console, he said.

The court heard police also found 1,000 images that could not be proved to fall into a specific category of illegality.

Alexander Greenwood, defending, said James may have underlying issues with autism and Asperger's syndrome.

He said the three years between the police raid and James' sentencing was "a very long time in a young man's life".

James, of Glanhowy Road, Wyllie, Caerphilly, previously pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing indecent images of children and one charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image.

Sentencing James, the judge said the police raid "must have been absolutely terrifying for members of your family".

He added: "You were obtaining films of real children being sexually abused by adults.

"This was not some sort of one-off aberration. It was systematic conduct of concern that needs to be addressed."

The judge said the offences "passed the custody threshold" but said a community order would be handed down as a sentence "designed to be rehabilitative".

The judge said this was because it had “taken far too long to get to court”, during which time there had been "no suggestion of any repetition of this behaviour"; because James had a “supportive” and “responsible” network around him; and because there was the possibility James was suffering from an undiagnosed spectrum disorder.

The judge advised James to “seek support in this area,” and added: "I think there's sufficient prospect you can achieve rehabilitation in the community.”

The judge handed James a 30-month community order and made him subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, with a notification period lasting five years.