Josh Sills, a backup guard for the Philadelphia Eagles, has been charged with one count of rape and an additional count of kidnapping according to Ohio’s state attorney generals office.
According to the news release [1] issued yesterday, back in 2019 Sills “engaged in sexual activity that was not consensual and held a victim against her will. The crime was immediately reported, and the Guernsey County Sheriff’s Office conducted a detailed investigation.”
This news comes as the Philadelphia Eagles will be playing in Super Bowl LVII next weekend. Sills is set to appear in court on February 16, four days after the biggest game of the season.
The charges stem from an incident that supposedly occurred when he was a student athlete at West Virginia University. It is not known publicly at this time who the alleged victim is.
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According to a police report obtained by the New York Post [3], in December, 2019, Sills allegedly forced a woman to perform oral sex inside of his vehicle, which directly resulted in injuries including bruising to her “throat, her inner lip, her right ear and on the back of her left knee.” The police confirmed that they possessed photo evidence of the injuries.
The report also pointed out that Sills had given the alleged victim and her cousin a ride home that night. What is known is that Sills and the woman accusing him had known each other for close to a decade prior to the alleged incident.
In her statement, the alleged victim said that Sills grabbed her by the arm and “pulled her back in” as the girl’s cousin had already left the vehicle. She also added that the cousin “did not think anything of it and shut the door and walked into the house.”
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According to the alleged victim, Sills then attempted to kiss her but when she protested, he became physical and began to grab her by the neck, where he then began to forcibly remove her clothes and grope her despite repeated attempts to force him off of her. From there, she states that Sills said “she was doing this and was not leaving until she did this.”
After the alleged sex act took place, Sills allowed her to leave but commanded “you will talk to me again” before she was able to flee the vehicle.
“The organization is aware of the legal matter involving Josh Sills,” an Eagles spokesperson said in a statement provided to Fox News [5]. “We have been in communication with the league office and are in the process of gathering more information. We have no further comment at this time.”
The NFL also placed Sills on the Commissioner Exempt List. A statement from the league [6] read, “Sills may not participate in practices and games or travel with the team while on the Commissioner Exempt List. The matter will be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.”
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