PITTSBURGH — The former mayor of Seven Fields on Tuesday pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of possession of child pornography.

Edward W. Bayne III, 46, now of Cranberry Township, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Maurice Cohill.

Bayne unlawfully possessed computer files, thousands of photographs and videos depicting minors in sexually explicit conduct, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Bayne will be sentenced Oct. 28.

The court released Bayne Tuesday on a $50,000 unsecured bail. He was to register as a sex offender within 72 hours.

In January 2013, state police confiscated computers at his home allegedly containing the images. Police downloaded 24 files from Bayne’s computers. They discovered the images in October 2012 while investigating a peer-to-peer file sharing network.

Bayne was appointed to be mayor by borough council in 2006 to fill out the remainder of a former mayor’s term. He was re-elected in 2010 and his term ended at the end of 2013. He chose not to seek re-election.