A Chase Matthew concert ended with a bit of chaos backstage over the weekend. Police arrested a now former bandmate of the singer.
Videos by Wide Open Country
Authorities charged the country musician, Carsen Richards, with two counts of second-degree sodomy and two counts of incest involving a person under 18. According to the Owensboro Times, the incidents occurred between 2020 and 2022. The victim was allegedly a 12-year-old child with autism.
New details have surfaced over the arrest for Richards. Police were waiting to arrest the musician as he exited the stage. Richards had been performing at the BBQ and Barrels event on Saturday night with Chase Matthew.
Police waited untila fter the performance to avoid an incident. They were also concerned that Richards could be armed. But that ended up not being the case. They're currently holding him in the Daviess County Detention Center on a $75,000 bond.
Chase Matthew Speaks Out
Following the arrest, Matthew released a statement about the crime. He fired Richards from his band.
"This situation has honestly been one of the most shocking and heartbreaking things I've ever experienced," Matthew said. "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," he continued. "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," Matthew also said. "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."
