IT’S been 11 years since Bournemouth man Mark* committed his crime and nearly seven years since he served his time – half of a nine-month prison sentence.

But because of what he did, Mark expects his punishment to go on for the rest of his life.

He is one of 1,451 people convicted as a result of Operation Ore, the British part of an international police investigation into internet child pornography.

Although more than 150 indecent images of children were found on his computer, Mark, a professional man, insists: “I’m no paedophile and never have been. I did something bloody stupid in 1999, which a huge number of people have done, and downloaded some images of child pornography.

“I’m ashamed to say I looked. They were horrible – there was nothing erotic about them. It was morbid curiosity, but my goodness I’ve paid a high price for that.

“I was arrogant enough to think that that I didn’t need to think about the impact of what I had done. I was wrong and insensitive, but it’s a world away from being a child abuser.”

Inevitably Mark was labelled a paedophile in the press. After his conviction, he was barred from practising the profession for which he had trained for years, although he had already switched to another career before his arrest.

“I went through some very dark days. Life went down the pan for a while. I wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for my girlfriend’s support,” he says.

The couple set up their own company and are now married. Their business is mostly conducted over the telephone and Mark has no contact with children, yet commercial rivals regularly tip off potential customers about his conviction.

“I knew it would be difficult to be employed. I thought I would do the sensible thing: set up a little company, earn an honest living and do something I can be half proud of. My personal history has no bearing on the company,” he says.

As part of his punishment, he was ordered to stay on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years, which means he is checked every six months and has to tell the police if he is going away for more than a week.

Mark compares the way the British investigation was handled with what happened in the US. Between 30 and 40 suicides have been attributed to Operation Ore in the UK, with critics claiming that some people were victims of online identity theft. “Were my actions in 1999 questionable? Damned right they were. I have paid for it big style, both personally and in my contribution to the deterrent. This will follow me for the rest of my life,” says Mark.

* Name has been changed.