A Marseilles man faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted of possessing three images of child pornography, one of them a video depicting a child younger than 10 being sexually assaulted.

Nicholas J. Rutherford, 19, was charged Thursday with three counts of possession of child pornography. The most serious count, for an illicit video, is a Class 2 felony carrying a possible sentence of three to seven years in prison, while the two remaining images are Class 3 felonies carrying two to five years.

A judge advised Rutherford during an appearance Friday in La Salle County Circuit Court that the charges are subject to back-to-back sentencing, meaning a conviction on all three counts carries an aggregate range of seven to 17 years.

The La Salle County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that Rutherford was charged after an investigation by the La Salle County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Ottawa Police Department, Marseilles Police Department, La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office and Illinois Attorney General’s Office High Tech Crimes Bureau.

In open court Friday, it was disclosed that Rutherford, when confronted with a search warrant, acknowledged illicit images on his phone and provided the passcode. Investigators then retrieved two explicit images of a teenage girl and a video showing a child, age 6 to 9, being sexually assaulted.

Bond was set at $50,000. Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia approved Rutherford’s request for the services for a public defender and ordered him to return to court Aug. 3.