Thomas Perez Jewell, 54, appeared Wednesday in federal court in Oakland, where he pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Jewell faces from 15 to 30 years in prison after he is sentenced in February and will be required to register as a sex offender.

With the conclusion of the federal case, Contra Costa prosecutors have scheduled a Nov. 30 preliminary hearing to address 73 county charges, most of which allege sex crimes against three young boys that surfaced in November 2010.

Federal prosecutors said Jewell admitted to sexually molesting two underage victims and recording the crimes. An investigation involving the FBI and police from Pleasant Hill, Martinez and Walnut Creek investigated Jewell, leading to a search warrant served at his Pleasant Hill home on Nov. 18, 2010, that yielded volumes of child pornography.

At the time of his arrest, Jewell was a longtime intern for Contra Costa Health Services' mental health division, which contracts with Juvenile Hall. He was also seeking his state therapist's license but as of February was the subject of disciplinary proceedings by the state Board of Behavioral Sciences.

Authorities identified three victims, all boys under the age of 15. Two of them were clients through either his county position or his private Pittsburg-based counseling business, YES Enterprises.

Jewell has been in custody at County Jail in Martinez since his arrest and is being held without bail.

Source: Robert Salonga, "Former Contra Costa counselor pleads guilty to federal child-porn charge," Contra Costa Times, November 23, 2011.