A federal magistrate ordered disgraced ex-Gary Police Assistant Chief James Bond to be temporarily released in June to review his case’s evidence with his lawyers.
Bond, 53, formerly of Crown Point, was indicted in September 2024 in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Indiana with Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Receipt of Child Pornography, and Possession of Child Pornography.
He has pleaded not guilty.
The indictment has one victim — a 17-year-old city summer intern who Bond helped supervise at the Gary Police Department in July 2024. Bond reached out, saying he could help the victim’s future acting career. They allegedly started texting, then Bond asked for an explicit video from the boy through Snapchat.
In a hearing Tuesday, his defense team, lawyers Mike Woods and Alison Benjamin, argued that the volume and type of evidence made it difficult to travel to the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee, Illinois to review documents and taped interviews. He later declined comment.
Lawyers said during the hearing that he would review evidence for a potential plea deal.
Magistrate Judge Abizer Zanzi ordered Bond’s release from June 8 to 18. He would live with a relative in Crown Point and be subject to court monitoring. Woods said in court Bond would spend hours each weekday at his lawyers’ offices.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Zenner, appointed with co-counsel Jennifer Chang as special prosecutors from Chicago, hotly contested the bid for Bond’s release.
He noted Bond’s relative said in court she worked seven days a week between two jobs, so it was unlikely she could monitor his access to cell phones. Many lawyers had difficult times seeing clients in jail, but they made it happen, he argued.
“If he can get in touch with those victims and make them retract their statements, this case may go away,” Zenner said.
When Zanzi asked, Zenner said the indictment was still for one victim. From the start, they had uncovered a separate incident where Bond allegedly groped another teen boy during a ride along with other teens who saw it. Investigators also said in September 2024 that they believed Bond groomed a second teen to send an explicit video. They haven’t been able to develop enough evidence to indict for either incident, he said.
The investigation was still ongoing, Zenner said.
If Bond took off, or otherwise violated his release conditions, the consequences would be swift, Zanzi said. As a former police officer, I think you understand, he told Bond.
“Yes, sir,” Bond replied.
The case has been delayed several times, with his defense team often citing the volume of evidence to review.
Anyone with more information can call Homeland Security Investigations at 1-877-4-HSI-TIP.
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