Godley prostitution suspects indicted as details emerge about complexity of scheme
GODLEY, Texas - A Johnson County Grand Jury indicted six individuals on charges related to a prostitution and racketeering conspiracy in Godley, and an arrest affidavit reveals key details of the alleged scheme.
Godley prostitution indictments
What we know:
Michael and Ashley Ketcherside, former Godley Police Chief Matthew Cantrell, former Godley Police officers Jeremy Arbuthnot and Solomon Omotoya, and former Johnson County corrections officer Regina Cantrell were indicted by a Johnson County Grand Jury on Wednesday.
Both Ketchersides were indicted on charges of racketeering/money laundering. Michael Ketcherside was also indicted on a charge of continuous promotion of prostitution.
Cantrell was indicted on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity, promotion of prostitution, two counts of sexual assault, and stalking.
Top L: Matthew Cantrell. Bottom L: Regina Cantrell. Middle L: Ashley Ketcherside. Middle R: Michael Ketcherside. Top R: Solomon Omotoya. Bottom R: Jeremy Arbuthnot
Jeremy Arbuthnot and Solomon Omotoya were indicted on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. Omotoya was also indicted on a solicitation of prostitution charge.
Regina Cantrell was indicted on a charge of misuse of official information.
All charges stem from a prostitution conspiracy investigation being conducted by the Johnson County District Attorney's Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Somervell County District Attorney's Office is also involved in the investigation.
Dig deeper:
An arrest affidavit revealed more details about Ashely and Michael Ketcherside's alleged prostitution ring.
Investigators seized phones, computers, tablets and USB drives from the Ketchersides in late March. Searches on the cell phones revealed Ashley Ketcherside was engaged in frequent prostitution with several clients.
The Ketchersides used the website Preferred411, an escort website, to set up encounters with clients under her "Lola Brea" alias. Screenshots of CashApp transactions after sexual encounters were discovered on the Ketcherside's devices.
Ashley & Michael Ketcherside
Screenshots of alleged clients show the Ketchersides would charge a variety of rates for different services, including $5000 for overnight services, $1300 for 90 minutes, and $600 for an hour.
A note from 2024 states one client spent $4000 to take Ashley Ketcherside to a Dallas Stars game.
The affidavit states multiple screenshots of Michael Ketcherside organizing meetups for Ashley with clients were discovered on the seized devices.
What they're saying:
"We would like to thank the Grand Jury for their service," District Attorney Timothy Good said. "This is an exceptionally detailed and ongoing investigation with some allegations that are very difficult to hear."
"This ongoing investigation is particularly troubling with several of those accused in the cases presented this morning serving in some capacity of law enforcement. We hold our law enforcement professionals to a higher standard in this community, and we are continuing to investigate this case as additional information is disclosed to investigators."
Godley prostitution investigation
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Prostitution conspiracy investigation sees Godley police officers arrested; co-defendant maintains innocence
Multiple former Godley police officers have been arrested in connection to a prostitution conspiracy investigation, although the wife and co-defendant of one of the suspects maintains his and her innocence.
The backstory:
On April 8, police arrested Michael Ketcherside, former Godley Police Chief Matthew Cantrell, and former Godley Police officer Solomon Omotoya in connection with a prostitution conspiracy investigation being conducted by the Johnson County District Attorney's Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Michael Ketcherside was charged with continuous promoting of prostitution, and was later charged with racketeering. Omotoya was charged with soliciting prostitution. Cantrell faced a charge of promoting prostitution.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Godley police officers arrested in prostitution bust
Three men, including former members of the Godley Police Department, were arrested and are facing multiple charges relating to promoting and soliciting prostitution. FOX 4's David Sentendrey spoke to one of the wife of one of the suspects who was previously convicted of prostitution.
Ketcherside's wife, Ashley, was arrested on April 15 and charged with racketeering after previously proclaiming her innocence to FOX 4's David Sentendrey.
According to court documents, Ashley and Michael Ketcherside were accused of racketeering and running a prostitution scheme out of their house, where Godley police officers were reported to have frequently spent time at.
Officials also discovered that the Ketchersides and Cantrell had conspired to compile information on people they perceived to be adversaries, including members of Godley City Council, the Godley ISD school board and Godley Police officers.
Ashley Ketcherside had previously been involved in a prostitution scandal involving Godley ISD in 2023, when she was removed from a committee that decided the district's sex education curriculum after it was discovered she had been twice convicted of prostitution in 2012 and 2016.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Godley prostitution ring sees another police officer arrested
Another Godley police officer was arrested in connection to an investigation into a prostitution ring involving the city's police department. FOX 4's Amelia Jones has more on this new arrest and the re-arrest of the former Police Chief.
Matthew Cantrell bonded out of jail on his initial charge, but was re-arrested on Apr. 27 and charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.
Cantrell was also charged with two counts of sexual assault stemming from incidents from 2012 to 2016 where he allegedly used his authority as Godley Chief of Police to harass and sexually assault a female victim.
On Apr. 29, the Johnson County District Attorney's Office confirmed that Jeremy Arbuthnot was arrested and charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. Arbuthnot is a former Godley police officer.
Regina Cantrell, the mother of former Godley Police Chief Matthew Cantrell, was arrested on May 4 and charged with misuse of official information. Regina had been employed at the Johnson County Jail as a corrections officer.
What's next:
The Johnson County DA's office said they do not have a date of conclusion for the investigation.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Johnson County District Attorney's Office and the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.