A former employee at the children's ski school at Heavenly Ski Resort was booked on four child exploitation charges Wednesday.

Stephen DeGraffenreid, 26, of Gardnerville was charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child, two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography, a news release from the U.S. District Attorney's Office said.

If convicted, DeGraffenreid faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison for each of the sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation charges.

According to the release, law enforcement found child pornography on an Apple iPod Touch that was found at the children's ski school. During the investigation, law enforcement found the iPod belonged to DeGraffenfield.

"During the execution of a search warrant at his residence, officers located a thumb drive that contained explicit images of children in a Gardnerville, Nev., day care facility restroom," the release said.

DeGraffenreid admitted to downloading and possessing the child pornography.

Heavenly Ski Resort spokesman Kevin Cooper said DeGraffenreid was terminated upon learning about the investigation.

"We have no reason to believe that the alleged activity has any connection to Heavenly Ski Resort or its guests," a written statement from Cooper said. "The alleged activity is abhorrent to everything that our resort stands for and we remain available to cooperate with the authorities in their investigation if requested."

The case is being investigated by the FBI, Washoe County Sheriff's Office and the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office.