A MAN caught with child abuse films told police that other people had sent them to him and he had forgotten to delete them.

When officers raided the Pontypool home of Brendon Keenan they found indecent images on his phone.

The 32-year-old had 24 category A images, the most serious kind, which included 15 videos and nine pictures.

He had 19 category B images, of which two were films and 17 photographs, and six category C, of which one was a video and five were pictures.

The images were of children aged between one and five.

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Ruth Smith, prosecuting, said: “Acting on intelligence they had received, police attended the defendant’s home address at 7.30am on November 9, 2022.

“Mr Keenan told them, ‘People have sent me nude images of children.’

“When he was interviewed he said to officers he had failed to delete them and he told them that he was sorry and ashamed.”

Keenan, of Newman Road, Trevethin pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children.

The judge, Recorder Mark Cotter KC, told the defendant’s barrister Hilary Roberts: “I’m not minded to send him to prison.”

He replied: “Thank you, that will be a relief to him.”

Cardiff Crown Court heard that the defendant has “learning difficulties” and that his offending was down to “naivety”.

He had suffered “flashbacks” after viewing the images and committed the offences just after the death of his father.

Recorder Cotter said to Keenan: “There is no evidence of you having searched for images.”

The defendant was sentenced to a two-year community order.

He will have to attend the Maps for Change sex offender rehabilitation programme as part of a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Keenan will have to register as a sex offender and pay a £114 victim surcharge.

The court ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the phone.