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Ashley's Place-Sumner Child Advocacy Center
"It shouldn"t hurt to be a child."
We have rebranded our logo and built a new website. Please go check it out at ashleysplace.net. We are very excited about it.
River, an Electronic Storage Detection canine, is wrapping up training this week alongside her handler, Deputy Reaber. Once deployed, River will play a critical role in locating hidden electronic devices during investigations.
We’re proud to welcome K9 River to the Sheriff’s Office team!
Well done team!!!ANOTHER SERIAL CHILD RAPIST, SEXUAL ABUSER SWIFTLY CONVICTED BY JURY!
Today, following a 4-day Jury trial and 20 minutes of deliberation, Assistant District Attorneys Nathan Nichols and Parker Sewell secured convictions in Sumner County Circuit Court against a Hendersonville man who raped and sexually molested four different children over more than a decade in three Middle Tennessee counties and the state of Texas.
Matthew Cody Ball, age 36 of Hendersonville, was arrested by Detective Jim Bachman of the Hendersonville Police Department on May 1, 2024 after a 10-year-old child disclosed to her mother that Ball had been touching her inappropriately. After this initial disclosure by the victim, HPD detectives began searching for Ball, eventually arresting him at the Nashville motel to which he had fled. During a subsequent forensic interview at Ashley’s Place, the victim gave a graphic disclosure of rape and sexual molestation carried out against her by Ball which began when she was approximately 5 years old. After news of Ball’s arrest became public, 3 additional victims, one of whom had since reached adulthood, came forward to disclose that they, too, had been raped and molested by Ball. The victims disclosed rape and molestation taking place as far back as 2011 in Davidson, Dickson, and Sumner Counties as well as Texas. The District Attorney’s Office was able to charge Ball for the crimes he committed against all of his victims, even those committed outside of Sumner County, under the Child Protection Act, which became law in 2014.
The Jury convicted Ball of continuous sexual abuse of a child, 9 counts of rape of a child, 1 count of rape, 2 counts of aggravated sexual battery, and 1 count of statutory rape by an authority figure. After the verdict, Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Nichols immediately revoked Ball’s bond and set his sentencing hearing for April 14, 2026. He faces up to 492 years in prison, without the possibility of probation, parole, or early release.
In announcing Ball’s conviction, District Attorney General Thomas Dean said the following:
This Defendant could not have been brought to justice without the bravery of these victims, excellent investigative work of the Hendersonville Police Department, and crucial evidence gathered by Ashley’s Place, Our Kids Clinic, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s crime laboratory. I am also grateful for the efforts of Assistant District Attorneys Nathan Nichols and Parker Sewell, who fought hard to achieve justice in this case alongside Victim Witness Coordinators Jennifer Woodard and Sally Ann Pirtle, who provided valuable support to the prosecutors, victims, and their families.
Matthew Cody Ball’s conduct in this case was disgusting and outrageous. He caused immeasurable damage to these victims and the effects of his actions will continue to reverberate through their lives for years to come. My office will ask that the maximum punishment allowed by law be imposed in this case and will continue to aggressively prosecute those who harm children.
We have been so blessed to have tremendous support from the beginning from our District Attorney’s office and our judicial system. We could not do what we do without them.
