A former Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer will spend decades in prison after a Hendricks County court on Tuesday stacked sentences for child molesting, voyeurism and obstruction to total 72 years. The punishment follows a jury verdict last month in a case that prosecutors say involved secret recordings of a juvenile and repeated sexual contact.
According to WIBC, the defendant, 36-year-old former officer Kamal Bola, admitted to making sexual contact with the girl and was arrested in September 2024 after the juvenile discovered a hidden camera in her bedroom. Court filings and reporting indicate Bola served six years with IMPD before his suspension and resignation amid the investigation.
How investigators pieced together the case
Investigators with the Hendricks County Sheriffs Office executed search warrants, pulled digital evidence and relied on a forensic interview that determined the abuse began nearly two years before the probe, according to court records and local reporting. Coverage by WISH notes that Bola confessed to investigators, apologized in a written letter to the victim and acknowledged that inappropriate photos would be found on his phone.
Verdict and sentence
A Hendricks County jury found Bola guilty on Jan. 29 of six of the seven counts he faced, including Level 1 child-molesting and multiple sexual-misconduct counts, while acquitting him on one charge, according to reporting that found him guilty on six of seven counts. The court then ordered the sentences to run consecutively, which adds up to roughly 72 years in prison, according to WIBC.
IMPD response
IMPD officials say Bola was suspended immediately after the allegations surfaced and that the departments Civilian Police Merit Board was asked to consider his termination. The department also collected his equipment and stripped him of police powers as the criminal case moved forward, according to reporting. Chief Chris Bailey called the allegations "disturbing and entirely unacceptable," according to WRTV.
Community reaction and oversight
Local councilors and advocates have pointed to this case, along with other recent incidents involving IMPD officers, as a fresh reason to revisit disciplinary rules that can slow down termination while criminal proceedings play out, according to WFYI. They say the lengthy sentence answers part of the accountability question but argue that clearer and faster administrative steps are needed when officers face serious allegations.
What prosecutors said
Hendricks County Prosecutor Loren Delp said the outcome "sends a clear message that no title or position of trust protects anyone from accountability" and pledged to seek the maximum penalties allowed by law in such cases, according to local reporting. Prosecutors and investigators credited Susies Place Child Advocacy Center for conducting the forensic interview that helped build the case, according to Kiwi News Network.
Officials have asked anyone with information about similar offenses to contact the Hendricks County Sheriffs Office or the Prosecutors Office. Victim-support services are available through local child advocacy centers, including Susies Place.
