A 39-year-old man who left a toddler alone in a room with a loaded handgun was arrested late Monday.

Tony Ray McCausley of the 1800 block of Holland Road was charged with child endangerment after police, while executing a narcotics search warrant, discovered the 2-year-old girl within arm’s reach of the 45-caliber gun, said Lt. Debbie J. George, spokeswoman for the Suffolk Police Department.

Other adults, including the child’s mother, were also in the house, George said. McCausley is not the child’s father but he was supposed to be caring for the child at the time, she said.

Police have alerted Child Protective Services to the situation, she said.

McCausley has been released from Western Tidewater Regional Jail on bond.

Efforts to reach McCausley by telephone Tuesday were unsuccessful.

If convicted, he could be sentenced to 1 to 5 years in prison and fines of up to $2,500.

allison.williams@suffolknewsherald.com