Eagles offensive lineman Josh Sills has been indicted by a grand jury in Ohio on one count each of rape and kidnapping, both felonies.
The Ohio attorney general’s office alleged Wednesday that Sills engaged in non-consensual sexual activities with a woman and held her against her will in December 2019.
Sills, who is listed as a resident of Sarahsville, Ohio, has been issued a summons to appear in Guernsey County Common Pleas Court on Feb. 16.
The NFL followed with an announcement that Sills would be placed on the Commissioner Exempt List.
“Sills may not participate in practice and games or travel with the team while on the Commissioner Exempt List,” the league said in the statement. “The matter will be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.”
The Eagles, who will play the Chiefs in Super Bowl 57 on Feb. 12, said they are “aware of” Sills’ legal matter.
“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 team said in a statement.
What are the charges against Josh Sills?
Sills was indicted on one count each of rape and kidnapping, both felonies, by a grand jury in Guernsey County, Ohio, which is between Columbus and Pittsburgh.
ESPN obtained the police report of the incident. The Guernsey County Sheriff’s Office opened a sexual assault investigation after taking a report from a woman on Dec. 5, 2019, in the emergency room of Ohio Regional Medical Center.
According to the police report, a man later identified as Sills had driven the woman and her cousin to her cousin’s residence. When they arrived, Sills allegedly grabbed the woman’s arm before she could leave his truck and tried to forcibly kiss her.
The woman said she resisted Sills and told him to stop, and after her cousin went inside the house, Sills tried to take her pants off and repeatedly touched her “down there,” per the report. The woman also told police that Sills forced her to engage in oral sex with him.
The woman reported the incident immediately, according to police. An emergency room nurse found bruising in the back of the woman’s throat, her inner lip, her right ear and the back of her left knee. An officer took photographs of the woman’s face and neck after she told police Sills grabbed her by the neck.
The woman told police she went to high school with Sills and had known him for seven or eight years.
Josh Sills career
Sills, 25, appeared in one game in 2022, his rookie season in the NFL, against the Cardinals in Week 5. He played four snaps, all on special teams.
He spent the first four years of his collegiate career at West Virginia before transferring to Oklahoma State in 2020. With the Cowboys, he was a first-team All-Big 12 selection by The Associated Press in 2020 and 2021 and started in 23 of 25 games.