A CHILD rapist who was caught with line drawings of child pornography which he had downloaded off the internet has escaped a jail term.

Matthew Burren was still on licence having been jailed after admitting a sex attack on a five-year-old girl when he was just 12 years old.

Now the 18-year-old has been put under a strict regime of supervision at a hostel in Croft Road to help him stay away from future offending.

Colin Meeke, prosecuting, told Swindon Crown Court that one of the terms of his licence from the earlier sentence was he should not have access to the internet.

But around the turn of the year his probation officer was concerned about his computer use, so got a police officer to join him at Burren’s address.

On January 20 they confronted the teenager who gave them a memory stick, saying ‘You won’t like what’s on there’ and when it was examined it was found to contain 48 drawings of child pornography.

Mr Meeke said it contained a number of duplicates, meaning there were just 43 separate pictures.

Some of the drawings were more realistic than others, he said, while others could be described as cartoons; but they were all of a pornographic nature.

Many depicted child abuse, while others showed children engaging in sexual acts with other children.

He said the Crown would also be seeking a sexual offences prevention order to restrict his liberty and help the authorities manage him.

Burren, of no fixed address, admitted to possessing prohibited images of a child between May last year and January 21.

Martin Wiggins, defending, said that as well as being subject to probation intervention since his release he was also subject to multi-agency public protection arrangements.

He said it was as a result of all the agencies coming together that the probation recommended he receive help in the community.

Mr Wiggins said: “It is an unusual case and an unusual defendant.

“He is a young man who is not suffering from any mental illness, but has a pervasive development disorder.

“It is clearly the case, sadly, that Mr Burren, on the face of it will go on, certainly for many years, if not the rest of his life, causing concern.

“The recommendation effectively encompasses a substantial and comprehensive package of measures designed to supervise, assess and to some extend rehabilitate this young man and most importantly therefore to control any risk of further offending for some years into the future.”

Passing sentence Judge Douglas Field said “You do have distorted beliefs about sexual and violent behaviour.

“The report tells me you suffer from pervasive developmental disorder. I have to deal with you in such a way that would best protect the public in the future.

“If I were to pass immediate custody it would be for a very short period and treatment would not take place.

“This is a case where treatment is highly desirable.”

He imposed a two year community order with supervision and ordered Burren to live at the hostel where he will receive 24-hour monitoring and support and attend a special school.

The judge also imposed the sexual offences prevention order which bans him having contact with girls under 16.