GARY – The Indiana State Police investigated James Bond, former Commander of the Gary Police Department, at the request of Gary Police Chief Derrick Cannon in July of 2024.
The investigation was then turned over to the Department of Justice to consider charges.
Bond, 52, of Crown Point, is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and receiving and possessing child pornography, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Hammond. The indictment alleges that Bond, while serving as a Commander with the Gary Police Department earlier this summer, enticed and coerced a minor to produce sexually explicit conduct and send it to Bond. At the time, the City of Gary employed the minor as part of the Summer Youth Employment Program.
Bond was arrested this morning. His initial court appearance is scheduled for this afternoon
before U.S. Magistrate Judge Abizer Zanzi in U.S. District Court in Hammond, Ind.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed
innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt. The exploitation count is punishable by a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal
prison and a maximum of 30 years. The receipt count is punishable by a minimum sentence of five
years and a maximum of 20 years, while the possession count carries a maximum sentence of ten years.
