A federal prosecutor said Tuesday that an ex-Gary Police Commander should stay in jail after investigators learned of at least two other potential victims.
James W. Bond, 52, of Crown Point, was indicted last week with Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Receipt of Child Pornography, and Possession of Child Pornography.
Bond has pleaded not guilty.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Abizer Zanzi granted Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner’s request Tuesday to detain Bond for the remainder of his case. The most serious charge — Sexual Exploitation of a Minor — carries a minimum of 15 years in prison.
The indictment has one victim — a 17-year-old city intern who Bond helped supervise at the Gary Police Department in July. Bond reached out, saying he could help the victim’s future career. They allegedly started texting, then Bond asked for an explicit video through Snapchat, Zenner said during a detention hearing.
A cached screenshot of the explicit video was found on Bond’s iPhone. Zenner said he suspected the video was purposely deleted.
Bond used his high-ranking position to groom and prey on “young teenage boys who wanted to become police officers,” Zenner said.
He argued Bond was a flight risk and it would be too hard to keep a phone out of his hands while one home detention. He could also influence witnesses to stay silent, the prosecutor argued.
He was “someone who couldn’t help himself” and “needed them to fulfill his sexual needs,” the prosecutor said later.
Since the case was unsealed last week, investigators learned through a tip line that a second victim intern sent Bond a video in summer 2023, but appeared clothed. Both victims rebuffed Bond’s messages for a physical relationship, the prosecutor said.
“This is not a one-time thing,” he said.
Zenner also said that Bond allegedly groped a third teen while driving a police car with a group of teens. The latter two cases are under investigation, he said.
Bond also made inappropriate jokes to test the waters about who might inform an adult. He was “heavily involved” in mentoring and training young officers, possibly giving interns the impression he could help their careers, Zenner said.
The case’s victim told investigators that Bond said he “couldn’t wait” till the victim turned 18, so he could have sex with him.
Defense lawyer Mike Woods, representing Bond with co-counsel Paul Stracci, argued the case’s alleged victim was within Indiana’s age of consent and wouldn’t have been a crime, if the cached screenshot wasn’t found.
Woods argued the other allegations sent via a tipline were not substantiated.
In 23 years as a Gary cop, Bond “created many enemies,” the lawyer said. That complicated efforts to ensure his safety behind bars.
That was especially a problem before Bond moved to another facility from a jail where, despite being segregated, he had been near a couple inmates he “put in prison.”
Woods denied his client was a flight risk.
Zanzi approved Bond’s detention, saying if he was released, his relationship with the former interns could have a “really chilling effect in an ongoing investigation,” while noting there was no “direct evidence” of intimidation.
Bond joined the Gary Police Department in 2001, according to its website. He worked in patrol, community oriented policing and investigations. He was a deputy commander in the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force and a supervisor in the former Lake County Metro Homicide Task Force.
He led the force’s Special Operations division, before he was appointed deputy chief last year.
Anyone with more information can call Homeland Security Investigations at 1-877-4-HSI-TIP.
