Country Bass Player Arrested on Child Sex Abuse Charges
Carsen Richards, who was the bass player and music director for pop country star Chase Matthew, has been arrested on numerous child sex charges. The 22-year-old of Hendersonville, TN was arrested after coming off the stage at the BBQ and Barrels festival at the Owensboro Convention Center in Owensboro, KY on Saturday, May 9th.
Richards faces two counts of second-degree sodomy and two counts of incest involving a person under 18 by a person three or more years older. The charges stem from alleged behavior where Richards sexually abused an autistic child beginning when the child was 12 years old. According to the criminal complaint in the case, the alleged incidents happened in December of 2020, and in December of 2022 when the victim was 14.
The mother of the victim first reported the allegations to the Winchester Police Department in Kentucky on November 24th, 2025, and the alleged victim was interviewed at a child advocacy center in Lexington, Kentucky on December 3rd, 2025. According to the complaint, the mother then confronted Carsen Richards about the abuse outside his apartment in Hendersonville, TN where he admitted, “There is nothing more I have regretted in my life … I made an awful mistake.”
According to the Owensboro Times, officers purposely waited to arrest Carsen Richards until he was leaving the stage at about 9:40 pm after the performance because Richards was known to be regularly armed, but does not bring firearms with him onto the stage. Police arrested Richards after he exited the stage, but before he got to the tour bus. He was unarmed at the time, and was taken into custody without incident.
Richards was booked into the Daviess County Detention Center on Saturday night (5-9), and held on $75,000 bond.
After the arrest and numerous media reports about it, country star Chase Matthew released the following statement Monday (3-11) afternoon.
This situation has honestly been one of the most shocking and heartbreaking things I’ve ever experienced.
When I first heard the allegations, I was sick to my stomach. I would never associate myself with a person I think could even be remotely capable of something like this, much less hire them to be on my team.
The reality is, you don’t always know what someone may be doing outside of your workplace, and nothing would have made me believe this was a possibility.
As of his arrest this past weekend, this individual was immediately removed from the band and is no longer associated with me or my team in any capacity.
And I want to be very clear: I do not support or tolerate behavior of this kind whatsoever.
I am truly disturbed and disgusted by the details of these allegations. My heart breaks for anyone affected.
Like you, I’m learning this information as it comes out publicly. I don’t know anything more than y’all know. This is an ongoing legal matter, and I trust that the legal system will go through the correct procedures to get to the bottom of this.
– – – – – – –
If you found this article valuable, consider leaving Saving Country Music A TIP.
May 11, 2026 @ 7:46 pm
I’m always glad to see a child abuser get caught. Too many of them get away with it while the children suffer for the rest of their lives.
May 11, 2026 @ 7:57 pm
This IS wonderful news that this monster was arrested. Not putting a damper on it, but why wait so long to arrest him & why was nothing brought up in Dec.? I hope this fool gets quite the punishment and the victim can get some counseling. These are not easy times for her.
May 11, 2026 @ 10:12 pm
“but why wait so long to arrest him & why was nothing brought up in Dec.?”
Becaise they had to conduct an investigation, Little things like that.
They actually set up a sting operation where the [alleged] victim’s mother was able to get the suspect to make incriminating statements into a wire. We don’t even know when that was done. For all we know, that might have only happened a few weeks ago.
And it involved police and judges in two separate states.
You probably don’t know this, but Tennessee police do not have authority over crimes in Kentucky.
It sound like they did everything right and will maybe be in position to obtain a conviction or guilty plea.They could have rushed it an blown the case. Would you like that?
May 12, 2026 @ 7:42 am
The legal wording given and dates provided make it look like he was under 18 when he committed these crimes. That probably had a part in the delay.
May 13, 2026 @ 12:45 pm
Excuse me. This is unrelated, but are you the same luckyoldsun that used to read and comment on the My Kind Of Country website?
May 15, 2026 @ 10:21 am
Yeah, I used to have fun going at it with my “pal” Ken (Nelson) there. I always tried to give him the last word.
May 11, 2026 @ 10:28 pm
MWCGA
make wood chippers great again
May 11, 2026 @ 11:57 pm
Business as usual in showbiz, in other words.
May 12, 2026 @ 6:40 am
I’ve never heard the name “Chase Matthew” in my entire life until this story.
And he’s a “star?”
May 12, 2026 @ 6:45 am
3.8 million Spotify listeners a month. He absolutely is a star. Never touted his music here because it’s not very good. But that doesn’t mean it’s not popular, and he doesn’t have fans.
May 12, 2026 @ 9:47 am
Agreed. Saw him live when he opened for Keith Urban last year. Not a fan of his music but lots of people were there to see Chase Matthews. He’s got a solid base.
May 12, 2026 @ 9:50 am
Neither have I. I can understand how people have never heard of most the bands/singers/musicians that I love/like, but I am always pleased when I find out that people I’ve never heard of have millions of listeners. Regardless of their popularity, I have never heard of or heard them. Whoot!
May 12, 2026 @ 12:07 pm
He is by no means an A or B-lister, but he did get his first #1 recently with “Darlin'” (which I’m at a loss in how it managed to go #1 given how it’s basically a pop trap song).
May 12, 2026 @ 12:57 pm
I heard of him when he “strarred” in a video in 2024 where the Oak Ridge Boys including Joe Bonsall show up at a crowded festive bar and everbody in attendance from John Rich to Kid Rock to Lorrie Morgan to Ray Stevens mug and lip synch to Elvira. Chase Matthew and Gwen Sefani were apparently deemed the most photogenic–and most able to expand the base–and got the most camera time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKEpqTPfV7s
May 12, 2026 @ 8:00 am
Oh,crap.Another Country music perv.Hope he gets what’s coming to him if he’s convicted,and…Carsen (seems his folk can’t spell) looks like the All-American boy. Perhaps that’s how he lured his victims,but hopefully,he’ll be history as a free bird (sorry,Skynrd!!!) soon.
May 12, 2026 @ 10:27 am
How tall are the oak trees in Kentucky?
May 12, 2026 @ 11:57 am
It’s worth noting that this isn’t Chase Matthew’s first known association with those guilty for child sex crimes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L1UXNuU45Y
Three years ago Ryan Upchurch called Matthew out on an entirely separate association.
May 12, 2026 @ 1:00 pm
For context: the man in question that Matthew also had a prior association with was Brandon Whitehurst, who directed a prior music video of his as well as recorded at least two previous songs with him.
May 12, 2026 @ 7:40 pm
Upchurch is a tweaker nutjob who lies about everyone around him and starts shit for no reason
He definitely isn’t a good source for info
May 12, 2026 @ 8:02 pm
Upchurch very well might be a tweaker nutjob who lies about everyone around him and starts shit for no reason. But that doesn’t mean the info is incorrect. He’s actually been right about a lot of stuff.
May 12, 2026 @ 11:21 pm
He claimed that the Jason Aldean song “Night Train” and the music video is about trafficking kids. I have to agree with Bob here, the guy is nuts.
May 13, 2026 @ 6:51 am
Just because someone makes false claims doesn’t mean every claim they make is false. I’ve been following this guy for years, and for the last year, very closely as he makes claims against Jelly Roll. Some of his accusations have turned out to be true. Some have turned out to be fabrications or nothing burgers. You have to take each accusation, and try to verify it independently.
May 13, 2026 @ 11:08 am
Trig, if there is someone who lies 95% of the time, would you consider them to be a trustworthy source? It’s like saying a blind squirrel is right twice a day. Just because that particular info had a shred of truth doesn’t mean the source is a reliable source
Name one thing he was right about regarding Jelly Roll. Because all I’ve heard him say is that he’s sx trafficking kids and worked with Epstein and is colluding with the mainstream to take him and other independent artists down.
Oh and not to mention Jelly and several others are all trying to k*ll him supposedly
May 13, 2026 @ 11:33 am
I absolutely don’t think that Ryan Upchurch is a trustworthy source. I would even go further to say he is an untrustworthy source.
Did Brandon Whitehurst appear in a video with Chase Matthew, and collaborate with him on a couple of songs, and then get accused of being a child molester? It appears that he did. Is it strange that now two people in Chase Matthew’s orbit have been accused of child molestation? It is.
That’s my only point.
May 13, 2026 @ 1:23 pm
“That’s my only point”, but at the same time…
“He’s actually been right about a lot of stuff.”
“Just because someone makes false claims doesn’t mean every claim they make is false. I’ve been following this guy for years, and for the last year, very closely”
Ok bro.
Notice how you didn’t actually name anything he was right about regarding Jelly Roll
May 13, 2026 @ 2:04 pm
Bob,
I said in my last comment that Ryan Unpchurch is an unreliable source of information. The whole point of saying I was following his accusations against Jelly Roll is to say a lot of the stuff he’s said about Jelly Roll has ended up being fabricated, embellished, or flat out untrue. You’re trying to shove words in my mouth I never said.
But guess what? Brandon Whitehurst was featured on numerous songs, and in a video, just like Upchurch said. You can really really really want that to be untrue because Upchruch said it. But sorry, it’s true. That doesn’t mean I’m voting Upchurch Man of the Year. It doesn’t mean I think he’s a reliable source of information. It just means he said something that’s true in this instance.
Jesus.
May 13, 2026 @ 2:53 pm
Literally not putting words in your mouth, literally quoted you verbatim. You said “He’s actually been right about a lot of stuff.”, but can’t seem to give one thing he’s right about other than the topic of this article
I don’t “want it to be untrue”, I want to let it be known that Ryan is a nutjob tweaker who lies about ppl all the time. That’s all I’m trying to get across. The only reason Ryan’s right about that is because the info on Brandon Whitehurst is public record.
May 13, 2026 @ 9:58 pm
The reason I mentioned him here to begin with, is because Chase Matthew was originally signed to Ryan Upchurch’s label, Holler Boy.
I personally agree with you that Upchurch can be quite annoying and relying on histrionics and cult of personality too often. That said, there’s no denying that Upchurch has been quite influential in the whole country rap sphere for the better part of this past decade, and Chase Matthew is among the artists directly torn from that cloth (heck, Luke Combs in his earliest years got his first taste of broader attention by featuring on an Upchurch song).
Plus throughout the direct video in question from three years ago, Upchurch presents photos and video directly from both Matthew and Whitehurst’s social media accounts at the time.
May 12, 2026 @ 1:01 pm
Thanks. I couldn’t tell what Ryan Upchuck was trying to say–if anything–other than the f-word and the m-f-word.
May 12, 2026 @ 1:03 pm
These days, I find it an interesting trend that the media people who write about these child abuse cases always manage to do so without revealing the gender of the victim. I wonder in which journalism school this editorial policy originated? Wherever it came from, it’s now universal!
May 12, 2026 @ 1:31 pm
Probably because it doesn’t matter? Diddling a kid is diddling a kid – who gives a crap if it’s a girl or a boy?
May 12, 2026 @ 4:44 pm
If they’re going to leave any facts out of this breathless, sensational reporting, why even tell us anything at all?
May 13, 2026 @ 12:57 am
According to Fox News it was an autistic boy between 12 and 14 years old.
May 13, 2026 @ 6:38 am
Does it make a difference in your world?
If so, why?
May 12, 2026 @ 2:35 pm
“Once you read between the lines,
You’ll miss the days when you were blind”
May 12, 2026 @ 8:27 pm
I dont know. In 2020 this guy would have been 16 vs his/her 12 then 18 vs 14. Now if he knew this person was autistic then def a no no but he would have been 16, where was this kids parents. Also said incest so is he related to the victim so no i dont consider him a perv since he was a kid when this stuff happened. Lots of questions, not enough answers.
May 12, 2026 @ 9:27 pm
He was old enough to be a babysitter. a camp counselor, and a youth coach when the first incident allegedly happened and he as old enough to be a U.S. Army soldier at the time of the second alleged incident.
I don’t think Carsen needs your help. With that sort of advocacy that you gave him above, the jury mayl send up a note ten minutes into their deliberations: “Hey, Judge–Can we send this guy to the electric chair?” [For some reason that defense conjures up something out of a Marx Brothers movie.]
May 13, 2026 @ 2:45 pm
I babysat when i was 9 years old so i dont what that is all about. We dont have all the facts, he might not even known she was autistic and she might have encouraged a lot. The fact that female teachers get away all the time with raping school children, his crimes are very minor unless there is more to the story than what was here.
May 13, 2026 @ 7:13 pm
Stop. You’re burying this guy with your “defense” of him.
May 13, 2026 @ 7:30 pm
Im not defending him, just pointing out the obvious you cant or wont see.
May 13, 2026 @ 6:35 am
What a lame excuse for his behavior.
May 13, 2026 @ 8:21 am
David, you’re telling on yourself again. Not that any of us are surprised.
May 13, 2026 @ 2:34 pm
I dont know what you are rambling about other than suggesting negative things about me. You seem too stupid for me to even care since i dont know you.
May 13, 2026 @ 12:03 pm
“Does it make a difference in your world?”
I assume this question is meant for me. I’ll be happy to explain. Decades ago, if there was an armed and dangerous criminal on the loose and our hometown newspaper (St. Petersburg Times, now Tampa Bay Times) issued a dire warning to be on the lookout, they would print a complete description of this guy, including his race. Then, one day they decided to print a description of a dangerous at-large criminal’s clothing, shoes, car, and everything else EXCEPT his race! This has been nationwide media editorial policy ever since!
They say it’s to not “reinforce negative stereotypes.” Of course, it didn’t take long for everybody to roll their eyes and think, “Yup! Another Black!”
Nowadays, by covering up a child victim’s gender, I naturally assume they’re trying to keep homosexual activity from being “negatively stereotyped.” There’s a bigger social agenda afoot, of course, and the mainstream news media is at its vanguard.