Country singer Chase Matthew has broken his silence after a member of his band was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a minor.
Videos by Suggest
According to Owensboro Times, Carsen Richards, a touring band member of Matthew’s group, has been accused of sexually abusing an autistic child when they were 12years old. He was arrested in Owensboro, Kentucky, following a performance at BBQ & Barrels at the Owensboro Convention Center.
The 22-year-old bassist is now facing two counts of second-degree sodomy. He also has two counts of incest involving a person under 18 by a person three or more years older. The charges notably stem from incidents that allegedly occurred between Decemebr 2020 and Decemebr 2022 in Clark County.
According to the court documents, the alleged victim’s mother had first reported the incidents to Winchester Police in November 2025. The alleged victim notably reported two incidents involving Richards. The first was when the alleged victim was 12, and the second was when they were 14.
Months after first reporting the incidents, the alleged victim’s mother approached Richards outside his apartment in Hendersonville. He allegedly admitted to the allegations, telling her, “There is nothing more I regret in my life.” He also told her, “I made an awful mistake.”
Richards was being held on a $75,000 cash bond. He was also ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim.
The Singer Issues Public Statement
In a post on his social media accounts, Matthew spoke out about the situation, which he describes as “the most shocking and heartbreaking things” he’s ever experienced.
“When I first heard the allegations, I was sick to my stomach,” he wrote. “I would have never associated 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 “Darlin'” hitmaker also stated, “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 weekend, this individual was immediately removed from the band,” he then revealed. “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.”
Matthew went on to add, “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.”