BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A prominent attorney admitted Thursday that he destroyed evidence in a child pornography investigation at a Greenwich church.

Philip Russell pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport to one count of misprision of a felony, which means he had knowledge of a felony but didn't report it.

He was released on $100,000 bond and faces eight to 14 months in prison under a plea agreement when he is sentenced Dec. 17.

Russell was charged Feb. 16 with destroying a computer that contained child pornography at Christ Church in Greenwich.

Russell, a former attorney for the church, is accused of obstructing an FBI investigation that led to the January conviction of the church's music director, Robert Tate, for possessing child pornography.

Former President George H.W. Bush attended the church while growing up and funeral services for his parents were held there.

Russell acknowledges he destroyed the computer, but said he had no reason to believe the matter was under investigation or that it would lead to an investigation.

He admitted to destroying the computer after learning that it contained photos of nude boys that he said Tate admitted belonged to him. Tate was never a client of Russell's.

“Affirmatively assisting those who commit federal crimes by concealing criminal conduct is a serious offense,” said U.S. Attorney Kevin O’Connor.  “It undermines society’s interest in public safety, particularly where, as here, the person concealing the crime is a practicing attorney and the crime relates to the sexual exploitation of children.”

He apologized in court Thursday.

"I just want to make perfectly clear how sorry I am for what I did in this case," he said.

Russell was charged under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which Congress passed in 2002 after a wave of corporate accounting scandals. The law made it easier to prosecute obstruction of justice by requiring only that an investigation was foreseeable rather than already pending.

His recent clients included Andrew Kissel, a wealthy Greenwich developer charged in a multimillion-dollar real estate fraud case. Kissel was found slain in his home last year days before he was to plead guilty. That case remains unsolved.

Russell will be sentenced on Dec. 17, and faces a maximum of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He was released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing.

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