A Tennessee man will likely die in prison after a judge ordered him to serve 438 years for sexually abusing six children across two states over 13 years.
Tennessee Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Nichols sentenced Matthew Cody Ball, 36, of Hendersonville on April 14, according to WGNS Radio. Ball originally faced a 43-count indictment, but a Sumner County jury convicted him on 14 of those charges on March 12. Court records indicate the counts against him included continuous sexual abuse of a child, nine counts of child rape, aggravated sexual battery, rape, and statutory rape by an authority figure.
The four-day trial concluded with jurors needing only 20 minutes to reach a guilty verdict, WSMV reported. The case traces back to May 2024, when a 10-year-old girl reported inappropriate contact by Ball to her mother. Officers tracked Ball down and arrested him at a Nashville motel where he had been hiding. (RELATED: Judge Sentences Man To Castration, Lets Him Decide Between Two Options)
Through a forensic interview at Ashley’s Place, a Sumner County child advocacy resource, investigators learned Ball had victimized the girl for six years, starting at age four, according to WGNS Radio. After his arrest, more children reported similar abuse dating back to 2011 across Sumner, Davidson, and Dickson Counties in Tennessee, while others came forward in Texas. At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented evidence against two additional victims who were not part of the original trial, putting the total count at six.
A Hendersonville man, Matthew Cody Ball, has been convicted of sexually abusing multiple children over more than a decade.
Sentencing is set for April 14, 2026.https://t.co/Ko2pHCvnV6 pic.twitter.com/iB2UTm0gBm
— FoxNashville (@FOXNashville) March 13, 2026
District Attorney Thomas Dean called Ball’s conduct “disgusting and outrageous” after the March conviction, in a statement to WSMV. Dean said the 438-year term is the longest sentence ever imposed in Sumner County for child sexual abuse outside of life without parole. Ball could not receive the death penalty or a life sentence because his crimes took place before Tennessee enacted a new law on July 1, 2024, that stiffened punishments for certain child rape offenses.
Tennessee law requires Ball to serve every year of the 438-year term without parole, WGNS Radio reported. He must also register as a violent sex offender and will be monitored for the rest of his life.