A Mountain Grove, Mo., man has pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

Ricky Burton Friend, 57, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. England in Springfield to the charge contained in a June 19, 2012 federal indictment.

Acting U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark says Friend is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison without parole, up to a sentence of 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000.

Ketchmark says an employee of a computer repair store contacted the FBI when he found child pornography on Friend’s desktop computer. Friend had brought his computer into the store to be repaired after it was damaged in an electrical storm. While working on the computer, the employee discovered the images and video.

Friend told law enforcement officials that he started downloading child pornography from the Internet approximately 10 to 15 years ago and that he downloaded child pornography daily. Friend used peer-to-peer file-sharing software programs to download child pornography.

A forensic examination of Friend’s computer and other items revealed 2,962 images of child pornography and 175 child pornography videos. Some of the videos and images depicted bondage and bestiality involving minor children and images of child pornography where the victims appear to be under the age of 3 years old.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.