A Vineyard Haven resident, who was a former Tisbury Select Board candidate, was sentenced to five years of probation for two counts of felony rape at the Edgartown Courthouse in October.
Macaleer B. Schilcher, 41, was sentenced at a Dukes County Superior Court hearing after he changed his plea to guilty for two of his four counts of felony rape. Schilcher’s two other counts of felony rape were dismissed.
According to court documents, Schilcher was released on probation with special conditions to register as a sex offender, to be evaluated for potential sex offender treatment, to have a mental health evaluation, and to comply with a restraining order that prohibits direct or indirect contact with the victim and to stay at least 100 yards away from the victim.
At the courthouse on Oct. 5, Schilcher’s attorney Robb Moriarty said the likelihood of a settlement before a trial was “not very good.” But at the courthouse on Oct. 23, Schilcher’s jury trial, scheduled for Oct. 26, was canceled following his change of plea. It marked the end of a two-year-long court battle.
Danielle Whitney, the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office director of community programs and spokesperson, said in an email to The Times that the victim delivered a powerful and heartfelt impact statement to the court that played a vital role in the outcome of the case.
“We are pleased with the resolution of this matter and grateful that the victim’s voice was heard,” said Whitney. “Their strength, courage, and willingness to speak up were commendable and played an important role in the outcome.”
Schilcher, who ran for the Tisbury Select Board in 2023, was indicted on four counts of rape by a grand jury on December 1, 2023. He pleaded not guilty in February 2024. In June 2025, Edgartown Police arrested him again after he sat behind the victim that he was ordered to stay 100 yards from in a nearly empty courtroom.
Victim-witness advocate Stephanie Andrade told police that other seats were available. Moriarty called it an incidental violation. A Falmouth District Court hearing later found he was not in violation. He spent a night at the Dukes County Jail and House of Correction.
According to Edgartown District Court documents, the initial incident occurred in August 2019, but a complaint wasn’t filed against Schilcher in the district court until July 2023.
Moriarty declined to comment on the sentencing.
