Deputy sheriff Thomas Bagnall, 27, has been charged with second-degree unlawful surveillance

A sheriff's deputy has been arrested for allegedly taking nude photographs of a woman from outside her home in New York State and posting them online.

The victim, from Germantown, Columbia County says she was told by an acquaintance that naked photos of her could be found on the internet.

Deputy sheriff Thomas Bagnall, 27, of Hudson, has been charged with second-degree unlawful surveillance and is currently in custody.

The unnamed woman told police she had been alerted to the existence of the photographs in August this year and reported them.

Bagnall, who has been a deputy for four years, is accused of taking the photos from outside the woman's home without her consent or knowledge, a police spokesperson told the Register-Star.

The photos were taken in November 2010, before Bagnall became a deputy, Columbia County District Attorney Paul Czajka told the paper.

Bagnall's father is former Hudson Police Commissioner, the late Jeff Bagnall.

Police have released limited information regarding the case as the investigation is still ongoing.

If convicted of the offence, Bagnall, who has been a deputy for four years, would be forced to leave his job.

Bagnall's superior Columbia County Sheriff David Bartlett, told the paper that 'One man’s actions should not reflect on the agency as a whole'.