A Tennessee sex predator was handed a record-breaking 438-year sentence on Tuesday for 13 years of horrific abuse against six different children.
Matthew Cody Ball, 36, was convicted in March of continuous sexual abuse of a child, nine counts of child rape, and various other sex crimes against six victims as young as 4.
Ball, who was tried in Sumner County, TN, began his sick crime spree as early as 2011 and assaulted children in both Tennessee and Texas, according to prosecutors.
Mugshot for Matthew Cody Ball, who was sentenced to more than 400 years for years of sexual abuse. Hendersonville, TN Police Department
Authorities said Ball’s punishment is the longest non-life sentence ever given in Sumner County, Ten. New Africa – stock.adobe.com
The sentence, which came without the possibility of parole, “is the longest, short of life without parole, which has been imposed in a child sexual abuse case in Sumner County history,” District Attorney Thomas Dean said in a Facebook post.
Ball was ineligible for a formal life sentence or the death penalty due to “the time frame during which his offenses were committed,” Thomas added.
Thus, his victims must settle for a near half-millennium behind bars.
The sicko was arrested in 2024 after a 10-year-old girl reported his inappropriate touching.
“During a forensic interview … the victim gave a graphic disclosure of sexual abuse carried out against her by Ball over a 6 year period, beginning when she was just 4 years old,” Thomas wrote.
Five additional victims came forward after the arrest.
The jury only deliberated for 20 minutes before delivering the guilty verdict, WSMV reported.
