Trial Set for Former Councilman Charged with Child Sex Crimes
MADISON COUNTY, Ind. — A former Madison County Councilman is set to stand trial next month.
The child sex crimes trial of Steve Sumner will begin on Aug. 3 in Grant County. Sumner is facing 18 charges, including rape, child seduction, sexual misconduct with a minor, and attempted sexual battery.
If convicted, Sumner faces a possible prison sentence between 10 and 57 years and fines up to $120,000.
Sumner had been on the run since July 2023 when he failed to appear in Madison Circuit Court. He was arrested in Kentucky last year.
Sharon Bailey Barker, Sumner’s alleged accomplice, has a dispositional hearing scheduled in August.
Sumner was elected to Madison County Council’s District 2 seat in 2018. He resigned from his seat on the council in 2021 after being criminally charged.
