The Hobart man who sexually abused and killed a chicken at a Valparaiso motel in 2001 has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Hammond.

Michael Bessigano, 37, faces a charge of using the Internet to receive images depicting bestiality. The indictment alleges Bessigano committed the crime between February and June.

Bessigano was in the Lake County Jail on Thursday. He has been jailed since July, when he was arrested and charged with a crime similar to the one alleged in the indictment.

He was slated for a jury trial on that charge until Judge James Moody last week dismissed the charge.

Bessigano served more than four years in prison for the 2002 animal cruelty conviction for having sex with a chicken, then killing the animal.

He was released from prison Jan. 29, then arrested again June 12 on allegations of a parole violation. He was released June 30, then arrested again on July 3 on the federal charge.