VANCOUVER, Wash. -- A Vancouver man pleaded guilty to child pornography charges earlier this week after being turned in by his wife.

Paul Presley appeared in a U.S. District Court on charges of receipt of child pornography. Authorities said he had thousands of pictures and hundreds of videos of children involved in explicit sexual conduct.

His wife, Lorrie Presley, said she found the pictures on a computer while searching for family vacation photos.

She said the pictures were so graphic that she didn’t give him a chance to explain before she called Vancouver police.

“By getting into that industry, you’re opening up yourself to things you wouldn’t have expected,” Lorrie Presley said. “It ruins lives, it ruins people and it destroys families.”

Authorities said she called 911. Paul Presley gave his laptop to his teenage daughter to get rid of it, but instead, she too, turned it into police, authorities said.

“Everyone tells me, 'You did the right thing,'” Lorrie Presley said. “In retrospect, if something good comes from this, as far as protecting the kids and squelching the industry, then it could be said that I did the right thing.”

A judge will sentence Paul Presley in June. He could spend between 5 and 20 years in prison.

Lorrie Presley said she never expected it from her church-going husband, who is a computer engineer. While he could be facing jail time, she said she still loves him.