Former Gary police chief charged by federal authorities with child pornography

A former Gary police chief is facing federal charges of possessing child pornography in connection with 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 receipt and possession of child pornography. The exploitation charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

Bond forced the minor to produce and send him sexually explicit content while he was police chief earlier this summer, the complaint said.

The images were on Bond’s iPhone, according to the complaint, which did not specify the minor’s age or gender. The program’s participants range in age from 16 to 22.

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

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

During his career, he was frequently in the news for his work as a homicide detective. He served as deputy commander of the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force and the Lake County Metro Homicide Task Force, where he was a supervisor.

Bond was arrested Thursday morning and was scheduled to appear in court later in the day in Hammond, Indiana, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said.