VERNON, Ind. (WRTV) — Jennings County Sheriff William K. "Kenny" Freeman Jr. was indicted Thursday on multiple charges following a grand jury review, the Indiana State Police said in a news release issued Monday.
The charges stem from a six-month state police investigation into the alleged theft of campaign signs.
The investigation began in November 2025 after a candidate for Jennings County sheriff reported stolen campaign signs. The candidate placed item locators, or GPS devices, in one of the signs, which then indicated the sign was on Freeman's property in North Vernon after it was stolen.
Indiana State Police troopers responded to the 60-year-old Republican's property and retrieved the sign and its item locator from a large trash bin. While there, troopers observed other campaign signs in the bin, including one belonging to a Jennings County judge candidate who had also reported signs stolen.
Soon after the discovery, Freeman issued a complaint and summons to both political candidates regarding the placement of their signs.
At the conclusion of the investigation, Dearborn and Ohio counties' Prosecuting Attorney Lynn Deddens was appointed as a special prosecutor, and Ripley Superior Judge Jeffery Sharp was appointed as a special judge due to the involvement of a current sheriff. The case was presented to a Jennings County grand jury on Thursday.
The grand jury reviewed the case and indicted the sheriff on two misdemeanor counts of theft, as well as low-level felony counts of official misconduct, obstruction of justice, and perjury.
An arrest warrant was served Monday morning when Freeman surrendered at the Ripley County jail in Versailles. He was subsequently released on his own recognizance and waived his right to an initial hearing on the charges.
No court hearing had yet been set in the case, which could not immediately be found in online court records.
WRTV reached out for Freeman's jail booking photo by email, but did not immediately hear back on Monday afternoon.
Freeman became sheriff in January 2019, and Indiana law limits sheriffs to two four-year terms. Republican Cody Low and Democrat Gary M. Driver will face off in November to become the next sheriff.
Jennings County, with 27,600 residents, is about a 90-minute drive south-southeast of downtown Indianapolis.
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