Marcus Erikson:Former Kentucky lawmaker and cabinet secretary acquitted of 2022 rape charge

2025-05-07 17:01:09source:FinLogiccategory:News

LEXINGTON,Marcus Erikson Ky. (AP) — A former Kentucky lawmaker and cabinet secretary has been acquitted of a rape charge after a trial in Lexington.

A jury found John Tilley, a former Justice and Public Safety Cabinet secretary, not guilty Tuesday after five hours of deliberation, according to local media reports.

Tilley was accused of rape in April 2022 by a woman who told police she blacked out after a man she didn’t know gave her an alcoholic drink at a bar. The man who gave her the drink was not Tilley, according to testimony at trial, and Tilley’s attorneys argued that he and the woman had consensual sex.

Prosecutors alleged at trial that the woman was too intoxicated to consent to sex and was physically helpless, media reported. Video from a hotel showed the woman with Tilley and two other men and she was “unstable on her feet and needed help keeping her balance,” Lexington Police investigators wrote in an affidavit.

A civil suit filed by the woman against Tilley is pending.

Tilley was a Democratic state representative from western Kentucky before joining former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration as the Justice cabinet secretary.

More:News

Recommend

As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest

CONECUH COUNTY, Ala.—At the confluence of the Yellow River and Pond Creek in Alabama’s Conecuh Natio

You'll Melt Watching Selena Gomez's Goddaughter Cheer Her on at the 2024 Emmys

Selena Gomez wasn't only getting love in the building at the 2024 Emmys.While the Only Murders in th

Oregon Republicans ask governor to protect voter rolls after DMV registered noncitizens

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Oregon on Monday asked Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek to ensu