Josh Sills, an offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles, was charged with rape and kidnapping just 11 days before the Eagles were scheduled to play the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. 

Josh Sills (Photo:Twitter/@Josh_sills72)

Prosecutors in Ohio claim that the allegations are related to an event that occurred in Guernsey County on December 5, 2019.

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Sills, a rookie backup tackle for the Eagles who joined the team this season as an undrafted free agent, is accused by authorities of engaging in nonconsensual sexual intercourse and holding a victim against her will. 

According to the prosecution, the Guernsey County Sheriff’s Office investigated the matter. This week, a grand jury indicted Sills on one felony count of rape and one felony count of kidnapping. 

The Guernsey County Sheriff’s Department “conducted a detailed investigation” after the alleged victim immediately reported the event. 

The Special Prosecutions division of Attorney General Dave Yost’s office is currently handling the prosecution of the case, which was later brought to a grand jury of the Guernsey County Common Pleas Court. Four days following his team’s Super Bowl LVII matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Philadelphia Eagles, Sills received a summons to appear in court on February 16.

Sills, who played high school football in Ohio, went to both Oklahoma State and West Virginia for his undergraduate studies. He only took part in a small number of plays for the Eagles this year, playing in just one game on October 9 against the Cardinals.

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Who are Josh Sills’ parents?

Josh’s parents, John and Kimm Sills, revealed to The Oklahoman in 2021 that they traveled to all of Josh’s football games, putting more than 232,000 miles on their 2013 Nissan Altima. Josh characterized his parents’ dedication to attending his game as “big.”

Josh said Kim — an X-ray tech — picked up a second job to help with travel expenses. She reworked her schedule and so did John, who remanufactures diesel engines.

Josh Sills’ family (Photo:Twitter/@Josh_sills72)

“I don’t really know how to explain it. There’s not enough words to describe what that means to me, just the love, willingness, caringness, and compassion that they have is unreal,” he said.

“I think the biggest thing that has kind of helped me is I enjoy hard work,” Sills told SI. “My dad, both my parents, instilled that into me at a young age. We didn’t always have the best things or the nicest things, but they would make sure that my sister and I would have what we needed. Seeing that, and being around that, just kind of helped shape me into the person that I am today.”

The Eagles have yet to publicly comment on the charges. They’re scheduled to play against Kansas City on Feb. 12 in Arizona.