Former Gary police chief allegedly killed two more people, federal prosecutors say

A federal prosecutor said Tuesday that a former Gary police chief should remain in prison after investigators learned of at least two other possible victims.

James W. Bond, 52, of Crown Point, was charged last week with sexual exploitation of a minor, receiving child pornography and possessing child pornography.

Bond has denied any wrongdoing.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Abizer Zanzi on Tuesday granted Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner’s request to keep Bond in custody 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 helped supervise Bond at the Gary Police Department in July. Bond reached out and said he could help the victim’s future career. They allegedly began texting, after which Bond asked for an explicit video via 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 intentionally deleted.

Bond abused his high position to manipulate and harass “young teenage boys who wanted to become police officers,” Zenner said.

He argued that Bond was a flight risk and that it would be too difficult to keep a phone out of his hands during house arrest. He could also influence witnesses to remain silent, the prosecution argued.

He was “someone who couldn’t help himself” and “needed them to satisfy his sexual needs,” the prosecutor later said.

Since the case went public last week, investigators learned through a tip line that a second victim intern sent Bond a video in the summer of 2023, but appeared to be fully clothed. Both victims declined Bond’s messages for a physical relationship, prosecutors said.

“This is not a one-time event,” he said.

Zenner also said Bond allegedly groped a third teen while riding in a police car with a group of teens. The last two cases are under investigation, he said.

Bond also made inappropriate jokes to gauge who might inform on an adult. He was “heavily involved” in mentoring and training young officers, potentially giving trainees the impression he could help their careers, Zenner said.

The victim in the case told investigators that Bond said he “couldn’t wait” for the victim to turn 18 so he could have sex with him.

Defense attorney Mike Woods, who represented Bond along with co-counsel Paul Stracci, argued that the alleged victim in the case was of the age of consent in Indiana and that no crime would have been committed if the cached screenshot had not been found.

Woods argued that the other allegations sent through a tip line were unsubstantiated.

In his 23 years as a Gary police officer, Bond “created a lot of enemies,” the lawyer said, making it difficult to ensure his safety behind bars.

That was especially a problem before Bond moved from one prison to another facility where, despite the isolation, he had been around some of the inmates he had “put in jail.”

Woods denied that his client was a flight risk.

Zanzi approved Bond’s detention, saying that if he were released, his relationship with the former interns could have a “real deterrent effect on an ongoing investigation,” while noting that there was no “direct evidence” of intimidation.

Bond joined the Gary Police Department in 2001, according to the website. He worked in patrol, community 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 police’s Special Operations division before being appointed deputy chief last year.

If you have any information, please contact Homeland Security Investigations at 1-877-4-HSI-TIP.