I was wondering if there are any free, safe, virus-free websites where I can download 3D models or other art usable in game projects that I'm not planning on releasing to the public eye.

I would prefer it if they could come with animations and look awesome, but that might be too much to ask for without money being involved somehow.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Take a look here.

I would prefer it if they could come with animations and look awesome, but that might be too much to ask for without money being involved somehow.

You're looking for the holy grail. Take a look at ryzom, an open source MMORPG which releases all assests under CC.