COLONIE — Investigators have charged a Latham man with producing child pornography, alleging he drugged a young girl and photographed her naked body as she slept.

Jason McLaughlin, 29, appeared in federal court Monday, two days after his arrest on a charge of producing child pornography.

According to the criminal complaint, he provided prescription sleeping medication to the child, and once she was asleep, photographed her naked in sexually explicit poses. She was 11 to 12 years old at the time.

McLaughlin was ordered detained Monday in his initial court appearance, before U.S. Magistrate Judge David R. Homer.

According to federal prosecutors, McLaughlin produced the pornography between 2006 and August 2007 and sent sexually explicit images of the girl to another individual using the Internet.

A search warrant was executed at McLaughlin’s residence Saturday and a computer hard drive was recovered from his bedroom. According to the complaint, the hard drive contains sexually explicit images of the girl.

He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted. The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Colonie Police Department, and the New York State Police Computer Crimes Unit.

Few other details were released Monday. Colonie police declined to comment on their role in the investigation. The head of the town police department’s union, Tom McLaughlin, is the suspect’s father.