MORE than 100 North-East men have been cautioned or charged as a crackdown on Internet child pornography draws to a close.

Northumbria Police carried out a string of raids across Tyne and Wear and Northumberland as part of Operation Ore, after being alerted by US law enforcement agencies.

It followed an investigation by the FBI, which passed on the names of UK residents who had given credit card details to enter illegal child pornography websites.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Jones, head of Northumbria Police's child protection unit, said: "Every image of a child being sexually abused is a photograph of a victim.

"Being on the register means that the behaviour of these men will be addressed and challenged.

"As well as identifying 44 previously unknown sex offenders ,who we can now monitor, Operation Ore will also serve as a warning to others."

So far, work by Northumbria Police has resulted in 32 men being convicted for possessing or making indecent images of children. A further 12 were cautioned for similar offences.

All 44 will remain on the register for at least five years.

The final court case to arise out of the operation is expected to end next month.

In North Yorkshire, Operation Ore led to 23 people being either cautioned or brought before the courts.

In the Durham force area, eight people have been sentenced, two cautioned, four are still being dealt with by the courts, and one is still under investigation.

Cleveland Police dealt with 23 cases and recovered 500,000 images, a fifth of which were pornographic pictures of children. There are still three cases to go to court and one person is awaiting sentence.

One suspect had 79,000 images of abused children, one of the largest collections in the country.

Trawling through thousands of pictures of child abuse has left its mark on all those involved, and some are still receiving counselling.

"These are harrowing images that live on in the minds of the officers engaged in Operation Ore," said Det Chief Insp Jones.

"Some children are crying as they are being abused, others smiling to please their abusers.

"I can hardly imagine the threats of suffering that were hanging over their heads to make them comply with their abusers."

Most of those who downloaded child pornography will undergo sex offender treatment programmes, rather than face jail.

Det Chief Insp Jones said: "Community programmes are an effective alternative to prison, as they involve active management of the attitudes and behaviour that led to the offending."