65-year-old Russell Vacherlon, customer service center manager of the Grand Ole Opry, was caught sexually exploiting a 4-year-old child on August 8th. On July 3rd, Vacherlon contacted a pastor and confessed that he had molested a juvenile. Vacherlon told the pastor that he was rubbing the child and that he took it inappropriately. When the pastor advised that Vacherlon needed to report this to law enforcement, Vacherlon became upset and ended the call because he believed their talk would be confidential. On July 8th, detectives received additional information from the victim’s father. The victim’s father informed officers that he walked in on Vacherlon, scrambling to get up and put his pants on.
The victim’s father also saw his daughter with her pants and underwear to her knees. After taking his daughter to a safe place, he spoke with her about the incident. The victim told her father this was not the first time that this occurred. On July 16th, during a forensic interview, the victim told officers that Vacherlon had been making her “suck his crotch” and that he had been “licking her butt.” The victim stated that this had happened twice. The victim disclosed that she called Vacherlon “Happy” and that “Happy” had made her “suck his crotch” before her father walked in. The incident occurred twice at Vacherlon’s house. Vacherlon was later taken into custody and charged with two counts of aggravated rape of a child on August 8th. A judicial commissioner set his bond at $200,000.