Bail is set at $10,000 for a former Ripley city police officer who was named in a recent federal indictment.
George Michael Puskas II appeared before federal Magistrate Judge Mary Stanley for an arraignment and detention hearing Wednesday in Charleston. Stanley set bail and gave Puskas a 10 o’clock nightly curfew. He’ll be back in federal court at a later date for a pretrial hearing.
The indictment handed down last week alleged Puskas coerced a minor into posing for pornographic pictures, received child pornography and had child pornography on his personal computer. The alleged crimes took place over the past two years.
An investigation after the alleged victim told police Puskas threatened to kill her and himself if she dated anyone else.
Puskas resigned from the Ripley Police Department last May 2012 while the investigation was underway.