Man accused of child sexual abuse

A 56-year-old Spencer man, out on bond awaiting trial in a separate case related to allegations of child sexual abuse, is facing new charges of dissemination of matter harmful to a minor and sexual battery, both level six felonies.

Russell William Bandy was arrested and preliminarily charged on Dec. 6, 2025 following an investigation conducted by Indiana State Police Detective Riley Nungester.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Detective Nungester was contacted by the Owen County Department of Child Services (DCS) on Nov. 3 to request a forensic interview between the detective and a female juvenile, which took place four days later at Susie's Place, a child advocacy center in nearby Bloomington. During the interview the juvenile disclosed how Bandy had sexually abused her, the affidavit indicates, and was grooming her. She indicated Bandy had touched her and made her feel uncomfortable. The juvenile also alleged her cousin, also a female juvenile, had experienced similar incidents with Bandy but what he had done to her was "far worse." She stated that Bandy was "found guilty on that charge for touching her cousin, and his wife bonded him out of jail."

The female juvenile went on to describe the alleged incidents when she felt uncomfortable around Bandy, which included him hugging her and rubbing her back up and down. She thought of these incidents as "grooming."

She also described another incident after Bandy had picked her up from school and she was riding in a car with him. The female juvenile reported Bandy again inappropriately touched her, allegedly placing his hand on her thigh, just above her knee.

Another incident described by the female juvenile allegedly occurred the previous year and again involved an inappropriate touch. On this occasion she described him as being drunk, according to the affidavit, and that she could tell because "she could smell it on his breath."

The final incident described by the female juvenile involved Bandy encouraging her to view an adult magazine he was looking at. She says she declined multiple times despite Bandy's repeated requests for her to view the material. She said what she ultimately saw in the magazine, according to the affidavit, was "three naked ladies."

The affidavit goes on to outline how Detective Nungester contacted Bandy by phone on Nov. 7 to advise him that he was working a criminal investigation regarding a sexual allegation and matter harmful to a minor. During their conversation, Bandy allegedly asked the detective, "how many times am I going to get arrested for this," which the officer believed was in reference to a previous case.

Bandy has secured the legal services of criminal defense attorney Ashley Fleetwood of Gibson Law Office in Bloomington, while the State is represented by Owen County Prosecutor Benjamin Kim.

A pretrial conference in the case is set for Jan. 22 at 10:30 a.m. in the Owen County Circuit Court I. A final pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 8, also at 10:30 a.m., followed by a jury trial, to be presided over by Judge Don VanDermoere, on June 16 beginning at 9 a.m.

At the time of his arrest, Bandy was out on bond in the amount of $5,000 cash, surety, or 10-percent alternative stemming from an earlier Oct. 2025 charge of invasion of privacy. That case is slated for a final pretrial conference on April 10 and a jury trial set to begin on May 19.

He also faces similar felony charges of child molesting – fondling or touching a child under the age of 14, and sexual misconduct with a minor in a case opened Jun. 25, 2025 in Owen Circuit Court. Bandy's bond in that case was later revoked on Nov. 13, and he was ordered to report to Owen County Probation where he was placed on Level 4 GPS monitoring. A final pretrial conference in that case is set for April 10, followed by a jury trial on May 19.

No contact orders have been issued by the court related to all three cases.

Prosecutor Kim has issued a reminder that all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.