Pete Townshend won't be prosecuted for child porn, though the co-founder-guitarist-main composer of The Who expects to be given a formal police caution, after his apparent investigations into online child porn for his own book got the musician into a controversy that could have killed his career.
Townshend - some of whose signature music for The Who addressed child abuse themes, such as the hit single "I'm A Boy" and much of the storyline of "Tommy" - is unlikely to face any court appearance in the matter, with sources telling the London Evening Standard the decision followed a detailed examination of computers seized from Townshend's home during a raid.
Townshend may have been the highest-profile suspect in a series of raids and investigations that have come amidst a British crackdown on child pornography. Had he been convicted of child porn charges, he could have spent five years in jail.
The guitarist insisted from the outset that the only reason he actively accessed child porn Websites with his credit card was as part of his research into pedophilia and child porn, subjects he planned to address in a forthcoming autobiography. Townshend has maintained all along that he has been an outspoken opponent of child porn, even posting an open letter against child porn on the Internet last year.
Numerous figures had leapt to Townshend's defense when the charges were first levied, including Roger Daltrey, The Who's lead singer and one of the only two surviving original members of the band aside from Townshend himself.
