JOLIET, Ill. (CBS) – A Joliet man is catching a major break, with a sentence of only probation for a child porn stash that includes a photo of a girl who appears to be in tears.

Aaron Saif, 51, pleaded guilty to aggravated possession of child pornography on Wednesday, and was sentenced to four years’ intensive probation.

Will County Judge Edward Burmila said he “reluctantly” gave Saif the lenient sentence, only sparing the defendant jail time because he had a clean criminal background.

The sentence was part of a plea deal Saif’s attorney struck with prosecutors.

“This is your one and only chance,” Burmila told Saif.

Saif was charged after police discovered “hundreds” of images in a locked file cabinet in Saif’s home in August 2009.

They were tipped off when a woman was a friend, who told the woman she believed her boyfriend – Saif – might have been in possession of child pornography, Joliet police said at the time. The two women checked the basement of Saif’s residence and found the file cabinet, police said.

Among the items police found were photos of children under the age of 7 appearing in sexual poses and acts.

One photo was labeled “Kindergarden” (sic), according to Saif’s indictment. In another, it said, a young girl covers her face and appears to be crying.

At the time of his arrest, Saif appeared to have several Web pages on popular social networking sites in which he identified himself as the manager of a cell phone store in Bolingbrook. Saif’s jail booking information said he was unemployed.

The Joliet Herald-News contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire