Former NFL player Kellen Winslow II was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison for several sexual offenses against five women in Southern California, including the rape of a 17-year-old unconscious young man and a homeless woman, according to CBS San Diego affiliate KFMB-TV.
Winslow, the father of two children and the 37-year-old son of the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame, Kellen Winslow, was convicted of charges of forced rape, rape of an unconscious person, assault with intent to commit rape, indecent exposure, and naughty behavior in public, according to The Associated Press. He must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Winslow appeared by video conference at Wednesday’s hearing in San Diego Superior Court in Vista, north of San Diego. San Diego County High Court Judge Blaine Bowman described Winslow as a “sexual predator” who committed “bold” crimes against particularly vulnerable women, the AP said.
“The vulnerability of the victims was not an accident,” Bowman said. “It was the kind of victim you looked for on your own because you felt they might not report the crime” or “they won’t be considered credible by jurors.”
The judge said Winslow continued his behavior even after his first arrest, performing a naughty act next to a 77-year-old woman at a gym and exposing himself to a 57-year-old neighbor while he was gardening, AP reported.
Winslow was first convicted in June 2019 after being found guilty of forced rape and two other charges – indecent exposure and a naughty act in public – but jurors could not agree on the other charges, including the alleged 54-year-old rape in 2018 – an old hitchhiker and the rape of an unconscious teenager at a party in 2003, KFMB-TV reported. On the first day of the retrial, Winslow pleaded guilty to rape and sexual harassment in connection with charges in a deal that spared his life in prison, the press said. He faced up to 18 years in prison on all charges, but a sexual charge of the battery was reduced in February to intent on rape.
Deputy prosecutor Dan Owens said at Winslow’s trial that the women did not know each other, but the incidents led to common details and similar descriptions of the suspect, according to KFMB-TV. Winslow’s lawyers said the incidents were either consensual or did not take place at all, the press said.
Winslow played for Cleveland, Tampa Bay, New England and the New York Jets during his NFL career and earned over $ 40 million in 10 seasons, the AP reported. Winslow’s lawyers previously said he suffered from traumatic brain injury due to the game of football, contributing to the fact that his behavior went “off the rails”. Winslow intends to seek help, according to his lawyers.
One of the victims, the homeless woman Winslow attacked, called for Wednesday’s hearing, while she and another victim watched the trial by teleconference, calling him “not a good man.”
“I don’t think you know how dangerous this man is,” he said. “Since I was raped, I haven’t raised my head … I felt trapped, worried, scared. I felt I had no rights.”