Carsen Richards, a professional musician who played behind country star Chase Matthew, has been arrested in connection with charges related to underage sex and incest, involving an autistic child.
Richards, 22, was taken into custody in Owensboro, Kentucky, on Saturday, as he faces numerous charges in Clark County, the Owensboro Times and the Messenger-Inquirer reported, citing court records.
Richards was charged with second-degree sodomy (two counts) and incest involving a person under 18 by a person three or more years older (two counts), according to court records.
Richards is accused of sexually abusing a child in December 2020, when the child was 12; and in December of 2022, when the child was 14, according to a criminal complaint from the Winchester Police Department.
The child involved – who informed their mother of the alleged incidents in November of 2025, and a child advocacy organization the following month – ‘has been diagnosed as Autistic Level 1 by Vanderbilt University Hospital,’ according to the criminal complaint.
The child’s mother spoke with Richards on February 12 outside of his Hendersonville, Tennessee residence, where she says he admitted he ‘made an awful mistake,’ the criminal complaint said.
Carsen Richards, a professional musician who has played behind country star Chase Matthew, has been arrested in connection with charges related to underage sex and incest
Chase Matthew, seen May 2 in Texas, said he was ‘truly disturbed and disgusted by the details of these allegations’
Matthew, 28, said he was ‘truly disturbed and disgusted by the details of these allegations;’ and that his ‘heart breaks for anyone affected’ in a statement on Instagram after Richards was arrested.
‘When I first heard the allegations, I was sick to my stomach,’ Matthew said. ‘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 entertainer continued: ‘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.’
The country vocalist said that ‘as a result 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.
‘I want to be very clear: I do not support or tolerate behavior of this kind whatsoever.’
Matthew said he still was learning about the case in realtime, and not privy to any further information on the issue.
‘Like you, I’m learning this information as it comes out publicly,’ said the Sevierville, Tennessee native. ‘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.’
Owensboro Police Dept. Public Information Officer Mark Hammonds told the Daily Mail about the efforts his agency undertook to take Richards into custody at the event.
Chase Matthew said he was ‘truly disturbed and disgusted by the details of these allegations;’ and that his ‘heart breaks for anyone affected’ in a statement on Instagram
Efforts to arrest the musician were ‘complicated by reports that the musician was ‘known to have access to multiple firearms and was frequently armed,’ officials said
The plans were complicated by reports that the musician was ‘known to have access to multiple firearms and was frequently armed.’
Authorities in Owensboro were told by investigators with the Winchester Police Department that Richards, who was expected to be in town for the BBQ and Barrels event, had been ‘wanted out of their jurisdiction on felony charges,’ Hammonds told the Daily Mail.
Hammonds told the Daily Mail about the safety-focused operations plan developed by his department’s criminal investigations division.
It was centered on identifying Richards and taking him into custody in a manner that reduced ‘the likelihood of a violent armed encounter in a crowded environment.’
Richards was identified by investigators ‘while performing’ and arrested at approximately 9:40 p.m., ‘after he exited the stage’ and ‘before he could reach a tour bus and away from the main crowd,’ Hammonds said.
Hammonds said that ‘as with any law enforcement operation, confidentiality is of the utmost importance and therefore the City of Owensboro’s Special Events staff and the BBQ and Barrel’s organizers were not notified of the impending arrest of Richards.’
The bassist ‘was confirmed to not be armed at the time of his arrest,’ and ‘was transported to the Daviess County Detention Center.’
Richards remains in custody there on $75,000 cash bond, the local outlets reported.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.