Indiana State Police asked the public for help finding a former Madison County councilman who is charged with raping an underage girl.
55-year-old Steve Sumner is charged with 18 counts in the case, including 15 felony counts related to the rape.
ISP believes Sumner is on the run after he failed to appear in court, which he was charged for in a separate case.
According to court documents obtained by News 8 in 2020, Sumner performed sex acts on a girl under the age of 16. Police say they also found 138 images of child pornography on his phone.
ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2023: Police in Tennessee believe a Madison County councilman charged with sex crimes may be in the Gatlinburg area.
According to the East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers, authorities have reason to believe Steven Craig Sumner, 55, might be in the Gatlinburg area. Sumner failed to appear at a court hearing on Aug. 8 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
According to sources, Sumner fled the state. Indiana State Police began the search for Sumner, asking for the public’s help in locating the wanted man, and now the U.S. Marshals Service has joined the search.
Sumner faces 18 charges including rape, child seduction, sexual misconduct with a child, sexual battery and possession of child pornography.
“I have no idea why my client did not show up,” Sumner’s attorney Cody Cogswell said, according to The Herald Bulletin.
If convicted on all the charges, Sumner is facing a possible sentence of 10 to 57 years in prison.
Sumner was elected to the Madison County Council in 2018. He resigned from the council in 2021. He also served as a pastor with the Lighthouse Church in Anderson.
Sumner is described as being 6 feet tall and weighs 215 pounds. He has hazel eyes and graying brown hair.
He has a history of working in the Nazarene Church in Montana and Colorado and attended the Nazarene Church Bible College. Police said he might be working as a handyman and also has connections to the Waynesville, N.C. area and Maryland.
According to Crime Stoppers, Sumner is being helped by a woman named Sharon Bailey Wood Barker, who is 5’7″ with blonde hair that may be dyed. They are pictured below on a poster released Monday, Sept. 11 by East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers.
Source: WISH TV 8 | Fox59 | Herald Bulletin | WBIR 10 News