Eagles' OL Josh Sills Indicted on Rape and Kidnapping Charges

Eagles’ OL Sills indicted on rape charges, put on exempt list originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Eagles reserve offensive lineman Josh Sills has been indicted on rape and kidnapping charges in his home state of Ohio.

Sills, 25, was indicted by a Guernsey County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court grand jury on one count of rape and one count of kidnapping, both first-degree felonies.

Warning: The details in this story are graphic and may disturb some readers.

According to a press release from the Ohio Attorney General’s office and the Guernsey Count Sheriff's office, these charges stem from a December 2019 incident.

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 NFL on Wednesday afternoon put Sills on the Commissioner Exempt List. While on the list, Sills will not be permitted to practice, play or travel with the Eagles, but he will be paid. The situation will be reviewed by the league under the personal conduct policy.

Before Sills was put on the exempt list, the Eagles released the following statement:

"The organization is aware of the legal matter involving Josh Sills. 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."

Sills’ lawyer, Michael Connick, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the allegations against his client were false and said Sills would “aggressively” contest the charges.

According to a police report obtained by NBC Sports Philadelphia, an officer was dispatched to the Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center Emergency Room on Dec. 5, 2019.

A woman told police that a male, whom she later identified as Sills, dropped her and her cousin off at her cousin’s place, where they were staying.

After her cousin exited the vehicle, the woman said Sills grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back into the truck. She also stated that Sills grabbed her by her ponytail and tried to kiss her, according to the report. She asked him to stop but he continued and she said that when another friend’s vehicle pulled up behind them, he grabbed her by the neck, threw her down and got on top of her so no one could see them, the report continues.

Once that friend was inside the home, the woman said Sills tried to take off her pants and kept “touching me down there," the report says. The woman stated that she kept telling Sills to stop and to let her go inside, but the man forced her to perform oral sex on him.

After the woman finished her account, the officer asked who the male was and she identified him as Sills, whom she said she had known for 7 or 8 years and with whom she had gone to high school.

The officer took photos of the woman’s neck and face; she stated that she had been grabbed several times. According to the report, the officer was also informed that the hospital staff was doing a CT scan on the woman to check for strangulation injuries. A nurse informed the officer that she discovered bruising on the back of the patient’s throat, inner lip and on her right ear. The woman also showed bruising on the back of her knee, the report said.

Sills was issued a summons to appear in Guernsey County Common Pleas court on Feb. 16, just four days after the Eagles will play in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona.

The case is being prosecuted by the Special Prosecutions Section of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Sills was signed by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State this past spring and is just finishing up his rookie season in the NFL. Sills played in just one game this season. He has been inactive for the Eagles’ two playoff games this season.