A former White County sheriff's deputy was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Gainesville's U.S. District Court on counts of production and possession of child pornography.

Christopher Thomas Davis, 32, of Dahlonega is accused of producing photographs in 2009 of a 7-year-old girl engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

According to court documents, Davis knowingly possessed computer and storage devices containing child pornography.

Davis was a five-year veteran of the White County Sheriff's Office before being fired on Aug. 25, the day of his arrest.

Attorneys representing both sides did not respond Friday to requests for comment regarding the indictment.

A preliminary hearing was held Sept. 1 at which Judge Susan Cole determined there was probable cause to keep Davis in jail.

Tony Axam, Davis' attorney, said after that hearing that claims against his client are false.

"We are going to fight the charges vigorously," Axam said. "They are serious charges, but they don't have merit."

David Westall, a special agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, alleges Davis "used a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct by means of a Nikon camera, that camera having been mailed, transported and shipped in interstate and foreign commerce," according to court documents.

Agents obtained a search warrant for Davis' vehicle and home on Aug. 25 and seized 11 different computers and storage devices containing child pornography. They also seized two cameras in Davis' vehicle, one of which Westall said was used to produce child pornography - specifically that of a 7-year-old girl.

During the preliminary hearing, Westall testified that images of the same girl when she was 3 also were recovered.

Investigators from the Child Exploitation Investigations Group tracked Davis after arresting Timothy McKeithan of Houston, Texas, on charges of possession of child pornography.

McKeithan's girlfriend, Lisa Davis, ex-wife of Christopher Davis, told investigators the images of a 7-year-old girl found on McKeithan's storage devices were produced by Christopher Davis.

Lisa Davis told investigators that after leaving Christopher Davis in the fall of 2009, she took his hard drive containing photos of her and asked McKeithan to delete those images. She then mailed the hard drive back to Christopher Davis.

An arraignment has been tentatively set for 11 a.m. Oct. 4 in Cole's courtroom at the federal courthouse in Gainesville. Davis remains in the Hall County Jail.