Ex-NFL player Kellen Winslow II sentenced to 14 years for rape and other sexual offenses
Ex-NFL player Kellen Winslow II was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison for multiple sexual offenses against five women in Southern California, including the rape of an unconscious 17-year-old and of a homeless woman, according to CBS San Diego affiliate KFMB-TV.
Winslow, a father of two and the 37-year-old son of San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow, was convicted of charges of forcible rape, rape of an unconscious person, assault with intent to commit rape, indecent exposure and lewd conduct in public, according to The Associated Press. He must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Winslow appeared via videoconference at Wednesday's hearing in San Diego Superior Court in the city of Vista, north of San Diego. San Diego County Superior Court Judge Blaine Bowman described Winslow as a "sexual predator" who committed "brazen" crimes by targeting women who were especially vulnerable, the AP said.
"The vulnerability of the victims was no accident," Bowman said. "It was the type of victim that you sought out yourself because you felt that perhaps they wouldn't report the crime" or "wouldn't be deemed credible by the jurors."
The judge said Winslow continued his behavior even after his first arrest, performing a lewd act near a 77-year-old woman at a gym and exposing himself to a 57-year-old neighbor as she was gardening, the AP reported.
Winslow was first convicted in June 2019 after being found guilty of forcible rape and two other charges — indecent exposure and a lewd act in public — but jurors couldn't agree on the other charges, including the alleged 2018 rape of a 54-year-old hitchhiker and the rape of a unconscious teen at a 2003 party, KFMB-TV reported. On the first day of the retrial, Winslow pleaded guilty to rape and sexual battery in connection to those charges in a deal that spared him life in prison, the outlet said. He faced up to 18 years in prison for all the charges, but a sexual battery charge was reduced in February to intent to commit rape.
Deputy District Attorney Dan Owens said at Winslow's trial that the women didn't know each other, but the incidents led to common details and similar descriptions of the suspect, according to KFMB-TV. Attorneys for Winslow claimed that the incidents were either consensual or never occurred at all, the outlet said.
Winslow played for Cleveland, Tampa Bay, New England and the New York Jets during his NFL career and earned more than $40 million over 10 seasons, the AP reported. Winslow's attorneys had previously said he suffered from traumatic brain injury from playing football, contributing to his behavior going "off the rails." Winslow intends to seek help, according to his attorneys.
One of the victims, the homeless woman who Winslow had attacked, called into Wednesday's hearing as she and another victim watched the proceeding via teleconference, calling him "not a good man."
"I don't think you know how truly dangerous this man is," she can be heard saying. "Ever since I've been raped, I don't lift my head ... I felt trapped, worried, scared. I felt like I had no rights."
