TOWNSHEND MULLED SUICIDE OVER CHILD PORN CASE

Rock legend Peter Townshend, 58, was cleared on May 7th of possessing pornographic images of children but still was placed on a national register of sex offenders.  He was

implicated in a widening Internet child porn crackdown, but has won the support of music-industry colleagues thanks to his forthrightness and history as a child advocate and because his life before now has been free of the taint of scandal. Scotland Yard announced that he was arrested on suspicion of making and possessing indecent images of children and of incitement to distribute indecent images of children. He has not been charged with a crime. Under British law, suspects are not charged immediately upon arrest, and some people are eventually released without charge. Townshend said he had used an Internet Web site advertising child pornography.  He said in an interview yesterday that he contemplated suicide during the police inquiry into his use of child pornography.  If I had had a gun, I would have shot myself, he told Britain's Observer newspaper.  And if I had shot myself, it would have been _____ awful, because it would have confirmed what everybody thought.  Townshend, who said he was abused as a child, publicly admitted viewing child pornography and once using a credit card to access it.  He said it was purely for research purposes and that he is not a pedophile.

British police widened their investigation into Internet child porn, arresting Tam Paton, the former manager of 1970s pop group the Bay City Rollers. Officials also were questioning Matthew Kelly, one of the country's most popular TV hosts.

(London)