UPDATE: July 23 at 8:30 p.m.
On Tuesday night, former state Justice Cabinet secretary and state representative, John Tilley was found not guilty of first-degree rape after jury deliberations began on Tuesday afternoon at around 3:15 p.m. In 2022, Tilley was charged after he was accused of raping a woman at a Lexington Hotel, according to court records.
Original Story:
After two days of trial testimony and arguments, the rape case of a former state lawmaker was put in the hands of the jury Tuesday afternoon.
John Tilley, a former state Justice Cabinet secretary and state representative, was charged in 2022 with first-degree rape. He was accused of raping a woman at a Lexington hotel, according to court records.
The accuser in the case testified in Fayette County Circuit Court Tuesday that she blacked out that night and ended up in a Lexington hotel room with the former lawmaker.
Tilley’s attorney argued that what happened that night was consensual.
Prosecutors argued that the 2022 incident was rape because the woman was too intoxicated to be able to consent.
"His conduct was criminal ... any reasonable person would know she wasn't okay," prosecutor Kathryn Schafer said.
