Hammond Man Charged in Child Pornography Case

HAMMOND, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office announced the following: Jon William Zondor, 69, of Hammond, Indiana, was charged in a criminal complaint with possession of child pornography, a felony offense. Following his arrest on October 28, 2011, Zondor had his initial appearance before Magistrate Judge Andrew Rodovich and was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

The investigation began this month when a person approached the FBI to report that Jon Zondor possessed child pornography. During the interview, the witness stated that child pornography had been found on computer equipment belonging to Zondor. A search warrant was executed on that equipment and child pornography was found. Thereafter, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Zondor’s residence where agents located numerous child pornography images on an external hard drive found connected to the desktop computer in Zondor’s bedroom.

These charges were filed as the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case has been assigned to and will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jill Koster.

Anyone with information relevant to the charges against Zondor is asked to call the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (219) 769-3719.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The United States Attorney’s Office emphasized that a Complaint is merely an allegation and that all persons charged are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

The specific sentence in each case to be imposed upon conviction will be determined by the judge after a consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.