NFL Player Joshua Sills’ Jury Trial Begins for Rape and Kidnapping Charges in Ohio
The jury trial for Joshua M. Sills, an NFL player from Sarahsville, has commenced in Guernsey County Common Pleas Court. Sills, aged 25, was indicted in February on charges of rape and kidnapping, both first-degree felonies, stemming from an incident in December 2019. Sills pleaded not guilty to the charges and posted a $25,000 bond.
According to the prosecution’s statement of facts, Sills allegedly forced a woman to engage in non-consensual sexual activity after driving her and her cousin home following a night of drinking. The charges further allege that Sills restrained the victim in his pickup truck, where he forced her to perform oral sex on him. The victim also suffered multiple instances of strangulation and biting, resulting in visible marks.
Sills, an offensive lineman, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022 as an undrafted free agent. Prior to that, he played college football for four years at West Virginia University before transferring to Oklahoma State University for his fifth year.
During the previous season, Sills only appeared in one game as a reserve for the Eagles. When news of his indictment broke, the organization issued a statement acknowledging the legal matter. Currently, Sills is still listed as a team member on the Eagles website.
The trial was initially scheduled for June 20 but was postponed at the prosecution’s request. Court documents revealed that the prosecution required additional time to prepare and consult with medical experts in response to recently provided defense discovery. Furthermore, the state was awaiting at least one additional report from the defense counsel.
Erik Spitzer and William Walton II from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office are handling the prosecution, while Sills is represented by Michael Connick, A. Steven Dever, and Dennis LoConti.
On July 24, the defense filed an order to dismiss the case, citing prejudice resulting from procedural improprieties and the state’s delay in presenting the matter to a grand jury. The alleged crime was reported within 20 hours of its occurrence but was not presented to a grand jury for indictment until three years later. The defense also contended that law enforcement failed to seize cell phones and retrieve Snapchat messages from Sills, the victim, and others who had communicated that night. The defense believed this evidence contradicted the victim’s statements. Snapchat is an application where messages and images are only accessible for a limited time.
In response, the state argued that the defense must demonstrate the evidence could have helped the defendant and not just potentially discounted the state’s case in order to establish actual prejudice based on case law. As such, they refuted the argument for pre-indictment delay, asserting the absence of sufficient grounds for dismissal.
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