The Valparaiso woman charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly defacing Commissioner Jim Biggs’ campaign signs is the former director of the Memorial Opera House, a county official confirmed Wednesday.
Megan E. Sutton, 42, was booked into Porter County Jail at 3:49 p.m. Tuesday, according to the jail roster. Sutton, who faces a Class A misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief, has since been booked out of jail.
Sutton, according to an email from the county’s human relations director Rhonda Young, served as director of the opera house from Sept. 18, 2023, through May 31, when she resigned. Her salary was $68,011.
“The director of the opera house reports directly to the board of commissioners,” Biggs, a Republican from Chesterton seeking his third consecutive term as county commissioner, said Wednesday. He previously served two terms as commissioner and is a former county council member.
Sutton allegedly used spray paint to deface the signs, with damages estimated at $900, according to charging documents. The signs were damaged between Sept. 22 and Oct. 16, according to the charges.
Biggs said in a phone interview on Oct. 23 that all of the signs were in Liberty Township and residents hosting the first two signs contacted him after they were damaged. Those were at County Road 900 North and Meridian Road, and 900 North and Calumet Avenue.
A witness contacted Biggs about the third sign, also on Calumet Avenue near the 49er Drive-in, after he reportedly saw someone spray painting the sign across the road and went outside, recording with his cellphone, and yelled at the person until they left, Biggs has said.
The signs were defaced with crude language and imagery. Biggs said he’s willing to drop the charges if Sutton gets counseling.
“Given her age and the artwork she used on the signs, there’s obviously problems there and I’m the least of them,” Biggs said.
A special prosecutor will be assigned to the case, according to online court records. Sutton does not yet have an initial hearing date.
alavalley@chicagotribune.com
