PORTLAND — U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Christopher Shepard, 31, of Gorham, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to possessing child pornography.

A press release Nov. 28 from Franks’ office, citing court records, said that in April investigators from the Gorham Police Department executed a search warrant at Shepard’s Gorham apartment.  “Investigators seized his cellular telephone, which was later found to contain several images of a girl under the age of 12 engaged in sexually explicit conduct,” the press release said.

Shepard faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. He also faces a supervised release term of between five years and life.

“He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office,” the press release said.

The investigation was conducted by the Gorham Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.