Former Indiana Councilman Arrested After Two-Year Manhunt

MADISON COUNTY, Ind. — A former Indiana councilman and pastor accused of child sex crimes has been apprehended in Kentucky, ending a more than two-year manhunt.

On Tuesday afternoon, investigators with Madison County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Marshals Service tracked a vehicle driven by Steven Sumner to Winchester, Kentucky.

Officers located the vehicle and arrested Sumner without incident. He was traveling alone at the time of his capture.

Sumner was arrested on felony warrants for 18 charges, including rape, child seduction, sexual misconduct with a child, and possession of child pornography. The charges stem from a criminal investigation initiated by Indiana State Police in August 2020.

Sumner, who was a Madison County councilman from 2018 to 2021 and a pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Anderson, failed to appear for a court hearing in 2023, prompting the warrant for his arrest. A private citizen had offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to his capture.

“The Madison County Sheriff’s Department would like to extend our gratitude to the Indiana State Police, the US Marshal’s Service, the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force- Baltimore, the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force-Indianapolis and the Howard County Maryland Police Department for their assistance in getting this fugitive in police custody,” the Madison County Sheriff’s Department said.

Former Indiana Councilman Arrested After Two-Year Manhunt  was originally published on wibc.com