Former Gary police commander indicted on child porn charge by feds

A former Gary police commander faces federal child pornography charges involving a relationship with a participant in the city’s summer youth employment program, prosecutors said Thursday.

James Bond, 52, of Crown Point, Indiana, was indicted on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and receiving and possessing child pornography. The exploitation charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

Bond, while serving as a police commander earlier this summer, coerced the minor to produce sexually explicit content and send it to him, the indictment said.

The images were on Bond’s iPhone, according to the indictment, which didn’t give the age or gender of the minor. The program's participants are 16 to 22 years old.

The Indiana State Police conducted the investigation of Bond at the request of Gary Police Chief Derrick Cannon in July, according to an Indiana State Police statement. The investigation was turned over to the U.S. Justice Department for consideration of charges.

Bond joined the Gary Police Department in 2001, according to the city’s website.

During his career, he was frequently in media headlines for his work as a detective on murder cases. He was a deputy commander of the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force and the Lake County Metro Homicide Task Force, for which he served as a supervisor.

Bond was arrested Thursday morning and was scheduled to have a court appearance later in the day in Hammond, Indiana, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago.