Andrew Paul Spedden, 33, of 26 S. Prince St., who already has served five months in Lancaster County Prison since his arrest in July 2003, also was ordered to serve three years’ consecutive probation.

Spedden, who pleaded guilty to one count of possessing pornography in December, was ordered by Lancaster County Judge Michael J. Perezous to register his address with the state police for the next 10 years and undergo sex offender counseling.

During the sentencing proceeding, the judge noted he had received letters from several people who suggested they would trust Spedden with their children.

Assistant District Attorney Jeff Conrad said today he found such a suggestion “shocking.’’

“Anybody that would allow their child’’ to be alone in Spedden’s presence, Conrad said, “would do so at their own or their child’s peril.’’

Spedden was not accused of having sexual contact with children.

After he pleaded guilty and prior to sentencing, Spedden was evaluated by county officials and was determined not to be a sexually violent predator under the terms of Megan’s Law.

City police initially searched Spedden’s apartment in February 2003 in connection with an unrelated credit card investigation, but instead found dozens of photographs and computer disks containing the pornographic images.

Investigators said at the time it was the largest collection of child pornography confiscated in Lancaster County’s history.

Originally, police charged Spedden with 74 counts of sexual abuse against children for possessing about 1,000 sexually explicit images of child pornography. The charges were consolidated into one count of possessing pornography at the time of the guilty plea.

Defense attorney William Boyd said at an earlier hearing that the charges were reduced because it would have been difficult to prove his client’s guilt on so many different counts under the law.

Boyd said his client had the images as part of a research project he was working on as he explored his own sexual identity.

“He was preparing to write a paper on adult-child sexual relationships,’’ Boyd said at the time.

At the same court proceeding, the Rev. Randolph Riggs of First Presbyterian Church in Lancaster said he has known Spedden for years and was helping him get counseling for a sex-love addiction.