Markleysburg man pleads guilty in rape case
A Markleysburg man who raped a 58-year-old woman in her Henry Clay Township home last year has pleaded guilty to all of the charges against him and will serve six to 12 years in state prison. Matthew Joseph Stilley, 26, came to the victim’s home on March 8, 2003, and around 4 a.m. smashed his way through the glass doors of her home. The woman got up to see what was going on, and Stilley pushed her back into her bedroom, where he raped her, according to court documents.
During the rape, Stilley wore a full-face motorcycle helmet as a disguise, police said.
State police trooper John Marshall was able to link Stilley to the rape using DNA banked by inmates who are convicted of certain crimes. Stilley is serving time for an indecent assault conviction in Washington County and had to submit a DNA sample for that case.
The sample taken from the Washington County case matched semen recovered from the victim in the Henry Clay Township case.
The lab matched the samples earlier this year, and Stilley was arrested in September.
The victim told police she hired Stilley to cut grass and rake leaves at her home. Stilley reportedly told police he was at the woman’s home the night of the rape.
He pleaded guilty to rape, burglary, sexual assault and terroristic threats and must make $721.98 in restitution to the victim in the case.
Judge Gerald R. Solomon will sentence Stilley at a later date.