John Tilley, former state justice secretary, charged with rape

Tilley, who is originally from Hopkinsville, turned himself in to police and maintains his innocence, his attorney said.

John Tilley, a former state representative from Hopkinsville who served as Kentucky’s justice secretary, has been charged with first-degree rape. He was being held in the Fayette County Detention Center following his arrest Monday morning, according to the jail’s website. 

John Tilley at podium
John Tilley, a former state representative from Hopkinsville who served as Kentucky’s justice secretary, addresses an audience at The Kentucky State Extension Advisory Council meeting on February 27, 2019, at the Embassy Suites in Lexington, Kentucky. (UK College of Agriculture, Food & Environment photo | CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Tilley, 53, practiced law in Hopkinsville prior to becoming Justice and Public Safety Cabinet secretary under Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. He served in the General Assembly as a Democrat representing the 8th House District.

According to an Associated Press report, Tilley’s attorney, Steve Schroering, said his client is innocent and turned himself in.

“John Tilley maintains his innocence of the criminal charges and has cooperated with the investigation,” Schroering told news outlets. “He respects the judicial process and has no further comment at this time.”

The arrest citation alleges that Tilley, on April 15, had sex with someone who was too intoxicated to consent, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported

Since leaving state government at the end of Bevin’s administration in 2019, Tilley has worked in the field of criminal justice reform, including an appointment to the Council on Criminal Justice as a senior fellow. 

Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.