William Gratten Cole, then 23, pleaded guilty to the possession counts on December 27, 2016.

Justice Robert Pearce backdated the sentence to May 25 when he pleaded guilty and suspended six months of the sentence on the condition that he commit no imprisonable offence for two years.

He ordered that Cole be placed on the Community Protection Register for four years because he was not satisfied that he was not a future threat.

Cole's laptop was seized in a search at Chudleigh as part of an investigation into an alleged indecent assault of a young girl.

The laptop was seized, but police could not gain access to the hard drive until July 2017.

The court heard that Cole cooperated with police by providing the password.

The material comprised 152 images and 104 videos of child exploitation material ranging from category 1 to category 4.

Justice Pearce said the category 4 material depicted penetrative sexual activity between adults and children.

There were also six bestiality videos, which did not depict children.

Justice Pearce said a conviction for indecent assault in 2018 showed that he had a sexual interest in children.

He said it was a serious offending because possession of the child exploitation material fostered and encouraged those who produced such material.

"Child pornography puts children at risk everywhere and all of it had capacity for harm," he said.

"Children are the real victims and there must have been many children."

The court heard the search had occurred in 2016 and a complaint was not laid until January 2018.

He had a history of drug use and mental health problems.