Topeka city councilman Jonathan Schumm, wife arrested Thursday after child abuse investigation; couple has 16 children
City government says an investigation has been ongoing; his bond is $35,000, hers is $20,000
By Steve Fry
steve.fry@cjonline.com
Topeka City Councilman Jonathan Schumm, who as a candidate pledged to make public safety “my top priority,” and his wife, Allison Nicole Schumm, were arrested Thursday in connection with aggravated battery and other offenses in which the victims were children.
Warrants were obtained earlier on Thursday for the arrests of the Schumms, a statement issued by the city of Topeka said, and the warrants were served on Thursday evening.
The statement by a city official didn’t say when and where the warrants were served. On jail records, the Schumms list 2713 S.E. Michigan as their home address.
Jonathan Schumm, 34, was arrested in connection with one count each of aggravated battery and abuse of a child, and four counts of endangering a child, a jail official said.
The bond for Jonathan Schumm is $35,000 cash or surety bond, a jail official said. He was booked in at 6:57 p.m. Thursday.
At 7:04 p.m. Thursday, Allison Schumm, 32, was booked into jail in connection with the same offenses as her husband, a jail official said.
Allison Schumm’s bond is $20,000 cash or surety, the jail official said.
As of 10:30 p.m. Thursday, the Schumms remained in jail.
The Schumms have 16 children, of whom four are biological, two are in foster care, and 10 are adopted, according to Topeka Capital-Journal archives. As of January 2015, the children ranged in age from 3 weeks old to 19 years old.
Jonathan Schumm was born in Topeka, grew up in Manhattan and returned to Topeka in 2007 where he became a resident in the Highland Park area.
He is an employee of the Modern Woodmen of America, a fraternal insurance company.
In 2013, Jonathan and Allison Schumm received the “Angels in Adoption” award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.
In a voters guide in March, Jonathan Schumm was quoted as saying he has been “very active in promoting adoption and foster care opportunities.”
Schumm, a former corrections officer, also said he understood the important need for public safety.
“Public safety will be my top priority,” he said in the voters guide. “I will fight to make our streets safe.”
In April, Schumm was elected as the councilman representing the city’s fourth district. That district has borders of S.E. 21st on the north, S.E. Adams on the west, roughly S.E. 45th on the south, and roughly S.E. Croco on the east.
During the April election, he received 793 votes to 590 votes cast for opponent Les Parrish.
On Nov. 4, the Kansas Department for Children and Families requested help from the Topeka Police Department in connection with “an investigation being conducted by their office in regards to allegations of physical abuse involving children,” the city statement said.
In turn, the Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office was notified of the investigation by Topeka police and social workers from DCF.