A Hendersonville man has been convicted by a jury of multiple child rape and sexual abuse charges following a four-day trial in Sumner County. Jurors deliberated about 20 minutes before finding 36-year-old Matthew Cody Ball guilty of crimes involving four victims over more than a decade.
Ball was arrested May 1, 2024 by the Hendersonville Police Department after a 10-year-old reported inappropriate touching to her mother. Detectives later located and arrested him at a motel in Nashville where authorities say he had fled. After the arrest became public, three additional victims came forward reporting abuse that investigators say occurred as far back as 2011 in multiple locations, including Davidson County, Dickson County, Sumner County, and in Texas.
According to the Sumner County District Attorney’s Office, the jury convicted Ball of continuous sexual abuse of a child, nine counts of rape of a child, one count of rape, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, and one count of statutory rape by an authority figure. Jennifer Nichols revoked his bond after the verdict and scheduled sentencing for April 14, 2026. Prosecutors say Ball could face up to 492 years in prison without the possibility of probation, parole, or early release.
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