Father reports his son, 17, to police after finding photographs of naked toddler on his phone (Details, pics)

A father has reported his own son to police after finding a photograph of a naked, sleeping toddler on the teenager's phone. Paul Spensberger reported his 17-year-old son Andrew to authorities in their hometown of O'Fallon, Missouri, after finding the photographs on his phone on December 30.

The two images were of a two-year-old relative of Andrew's girlfriend and were taken at close range. The little girl was sleeping when she was photographed. Paul found them after confiscating his son's phone as punishment for other bad behavior.

He told DailyMail on Tuesday that he was 'disgusted' by the images and felt he had no other option than to contact police in the hope that it would finally scare his son, who suffers behavioral problems and is often in trouble for theft, into changing his ways.

When questioned by his father, Andrew, who works at KFC, told him he took the photographs with the intention of selling them to a high school classmate who he suspected was a pedophile.

He said he hoped to get $350 for the photographs and that he needed the money desperately because he owed it to others. He remains in county jail on a $10,000 bond which his father, who runs his own construction business, refuses to pay.

Paul still contacted police and his son was arrested on felony child pornography charges. He admitted that he was torn about whether or not to report his son but felt he had no choice because the phone the photographs were stored on is registered to his brother's name.

'He feels like s***. He feels remorse and he is scared, he's facing time in prison. I could go and get him but he needs to learn,' Paul told DailyMail.

'I don't know if I would do the same thing again now. 'I don't know what exactly I was expecting,' the boy's father said, adding: 'It's difficult.

'He said he believed his son's story that he planned to sell the photographs and not use them himself for any kind of personal gratification.

According to his father, he attends a special needs school where there are 'twisted' students with an appetite for child porn.

'Andrew is a thief but he is not sexual like that.'

'He was in a bind [for money]... and I have no doubt there are kids at his school that would buy s*** like that. 'Paul has been in contact with the photographed child's family and says they have forgiven his son.

Stopping short of advising other parents to do the same as he did if they found similar photographs on their children's phones, Paul said: 'It's disgusting, it's unethical and it should never happen.

He, on the other hand, is torn between teaching his troubled son a lesson and seeing him face up to seven years in prison. Andrew was arrested on a Class D felony charge of child pornography possession.

If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison. The teenager remains behind bars in county jail and is awaiting his next court date.

His father has not yet decided whether or not he will hire him a lawyer but said he has consulted with several.