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Ex-NFL Player Kellen Winslow Jr. Facing 14 Years In Prison After New Sex Crimes Plea Deal
Former Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. is expected to be sentenced in March after pleading guilty to a string of sex crimes.
In a move that will likely shave four years off the convicted sex offender’s prison sentence, former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. agreed to a plea deal last week in the rape or assault of three women.
Winslow, 37, is now facing a 14-year prison term in exchange for a guilty plea that was submitted on Friday, according to the Associated Press.
In 2019, Winslow was accused of raping or assaulting three women in California, including a 58-year-old unhoused woman, an unconscious teenager, and a hitchhiker. After he was convicted of raping the 58-year-old woman and while facing retrials on other charges, he later entered two guilty pleas in the 2003 rape of the teenager and the 2018 sexual battery of the 54-year-old hitchhiker in California.
On Friday, a San Diego Superior Court judge swapped out that 2019 sexual battery plea with a guilty plea on a charge of assault with intent to commit rape.
“I would like to agree to 14 years,” Winslow told Judge Blaine Bowman, USA Today reported.
Prior to the new ruling, Winslow had faced 18 years behind bars. He’s expected to be sentenced on March 3.
While appearing before the court, Winslow raised concerns related to the racial diversity of a potential jury if the case had proceeded to trial.
“I just wanted to know if I was to go to trial would I get an actual jury of my peers that [are] people of color that would look like me?” he asked the judge. “Would I get a jury trial like that?”
In a slough of separate cases, the disgraced former football player had faced charges ranging from rape to burglary, indecent exposure, and kidnapping.
"These charges themselves are extremely serious, and it is clear to the people that these were committed against the most vulnerable victims in society," Deputy District Attorney Dan Owens said at the time, the Associated Press reported.
In 2019, Winslow was also accused of being a “compulsive masturbater” who frequently watched pornography during team meetings.
Winslow was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2004, according to Sports Illustrated. The former tight end retired in 2013 after stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New York Jets, and the New England Patriots. He’s the son of NFL Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow.
