CAMBRIDGE, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Guernsey County Sheriff Jeffrey D. Paden today announced the indictment of a Sarahsville man on rape charges.
Joshua Matthew Sills, 25, was indicted by a Guernsey County Common Pleas Court grand jury on one count of rape and one count of kidnapping, both first-degree felonies.
Sills is an offensive guard for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. The indictment comes days before the Eagles are set to play in Super Bowl LVII. Sills was a rookie in 2022, and he played in one regular season game.
According to ESPN, the NFL said on Wednesday that Sills has been placed on the commissioner’s exempt list and is not permitted to participate in practices or games or travel with the Eagles while on the list. The league also said that “the matter will be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.”
In December 2019, the indictment says, 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.
The case was presented to the grand jury and is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions Section of the Attorney General’s Office.
Sills was issued a summons to appear in Guernsey County Common Pleas Court at 1 p.m. on Feb. 16.
Indictments are criminal allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proved guilty in a court of law.
