According to London police, the investigation found that Townshend had visited a web site that contained child abuse images in 1999, but that he did not download any images.

"He has fully cooperated with the investigation and the decision to caution was made in line with police policy," said a police statement.

Townshend--who said he believes he was abused as a child--has admitted to viewing child pornography while he was doing research.

"From the very beginning, I acknowledged that I did access this site and that I had given the police full access to all of my computers," Townshend said in a statement. "As I made clear at the outset, I accessed the site because of my concerns at the shocking material readily available on the Internet to children as well as adults, and as part of my research toward the campaign I had been putting together since 1995 to counter damage done by all kinds of pornography on the Internet, but especially any involving child abuse.

"The police have unconditionally accepted that these were my motives in looking at this site and that there was no other nefarious purpose, and as a result they have decided not to charge me," Townshend's statement continued. "I accept that I was wrong to access this site, and that by doing so, I broke the law, and I have accepted the caution that the police have given me."

According to British press reports, it is illegal to view child pornography for "legitimate" reasons in the U.K.

London police--during a much-publicized crackdown on Internet child porn--arrested and questioned Townshend on Jan. 13 on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children. They seized two computers during a four-hour search of his home.