(La Porte, IN) - A former elected official and firefighter in LaPorte County has been sentenced for entering the unoccupied home of a woman without her permission, and engaging in lewd behavior inside her bedroom.
John Sullivan, 64, of Wanatah, was sentenced Wednesday in LaPorte Circuit Court to 18 months on work release after pleading guilty to Level 6 felony residential entry. He could have received an up to 30 month sentence.
LaPorte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan said the amount of punishment handed to Sullivan negotiated between his office and the defense was “the best possible outcome considering a whole number of factors.”
According to court documents, a 38 year old woman in January of 2023 was alerted by her home security system about an intruder. On her cell phone screen, authorities said she witnessed Sullivan captured by a security camera in her bedroom performing a sex act. The video recording of Sullivan also contained images of underwear and other garments belonging to the victim, according to court documents.
Officers responding to her 911 call observed Sullivan in his car backing out of her driveway near Union Mills and took him into custody.
According to court documents, the woman knew Sullivan from him being friends with her late father. He had also been visiting her recently to check on her furnance and perform other handyman tasks, but at no time did she give him permission to freely go inside her residence.
The woman told investigators she just had the security system installed after finding things in her home out of place and having a feeling of being watched,
according to court documents.
Sullivan was previously convicted on similar allegations at the residence of another woman. In 2018, he was sentenced to one year on GPS home monitoring after pleading guilty to Level 6 felony residential entry. He was also ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation and take part in any recommended treatment.
In that case, authorities said he went inside the home of a 40 year old woman without her permission and rummaged through some of her belongings. That residence was across the street from the Cass-Clinton Township Fire Department where Sullivan was a volunteer firefighter at the time.
After his first arrest, police said he admitted going into the homes of two other women without their permission over the last 20 years. He eventually, resigned during his first term as a LaPorte County Councilman after spending eight years as the LaPorte County Coroner. Sullivan is also a former full-time firefighter in LaPorte and used to drive a school bus for the South Central School Corporation.
