Indiana Man Arrested on Mercer County Rape Charge

A 19-year-old Farmland, Indiana, man has been arrested on a rape charge filed in Mercer County Common Pleas Court.

Carter M. Sickels was indicted October 15 on one count of rape, a first-degree felony. The indictment alleges he engaged in sexual conduct with a child younger than 13 in Mercer County between July 4 and July 5, 2026.

A warrant return filed Monday states Sickels was arrested on the warrant November 2 and brought to the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office. The document indicates another agency had held him since October 30 while awaiting service of the warrant.

The charge is an allegation, and Sickels is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.