Christian musician Phillip Vaught is behind bars in Hendersonville, Tennessee, after being charged with sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to reports by the Sumner County News and WSMV-TV Ch. 4, an NBC affiliate in Nashville, Vaught is being held on a $1.5 million bond.
Vaught was indicted on four charges: continuous sexual abuse of a child; especially aggravated sexual exploitation; statutory rape by an authority figure; and sexual exploitation of a minor.
Hendersonville police arrested the country-rock singer on Friday, April 10, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he was scheduled to play at the Waterview Casino.
Police told the media that after a lengthy investigation, they concluded that the “God Lives (This Is America)” singer was responsible.
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“(The investigation came from a) delayed report of sexual abuse against a female juvenile,” police told the media.
Vaught faced a grand jury in Hendersonville, 18 miles southeast of Nashville, on Monday. Authorities have not released details about the victim, time and location of the offense. Police have asked the public to come forward with information about any further incidents involving Vaught.
Vaught, according to his website, plays 200 shows a year worldwide and was hailed as the “future of country music” by Eliot Lewis of the pop rock duo Hall and Oates.
Raised in Hanson, Kentucky, by his Baptist minister father and mother, Vaught sang in church before attending the University of Kentucky. He began touring full-time in 2003 with the Phil Vaught Band and was once signed to Universal Music Group, one of the world’s largest music companies.
He is sometimes referred to as a “crossover” artist, having begun his career in Christian music but then crossing over to more classic rock and country genres.
His last single, “Broken Town,” was released in April on WTF (Working Towards the Future) Records, Vaught’s own independent label. His Christian faith features prominently in his music and publicity.
“The world, the nation, & I definitely need prayer,” he wrote on Facebook on Feb. 4. “We need to repent and turn our hearts back to Christ.”
Jessica Morris is a music journalist, podcaster and author based in Melbourne, Australia.
