BENTON — A former airman stationed at Scott Air Force Base pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to possessing thousands of images of child pornography.

According to James L. Porter, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, 25-year-old Ronald W. McNair Jr., pleaded guilty to possession of prepubescent child pornography in Federal Court Monday, a release from the Department of Justice said. He could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000.

According to evidence presented in court, the charge arose after the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children(NCMEC) made three CyberTipline reports.

The reports came after getting information from Microsoft about what appeared to be images of child pornography uploaded to a SkyDrive account by a man identified as Ron McNair.

An administrative subpoena found that the IP address used for the uploads belonged to McNair, who was stationed at Scott AFB and lived in Belleville at the time. The Department of Homeland Security executed the search warrant at McNair’s home where they discovered 4,522 images and 144 videos of child pornography stored on an external hard drive

His sentencing date has been set for Sept. 6, at which time he could face up to 20 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine and a lifetime of supervised release.