The once-golden Winslow name has been permanently contaminated in San Diego County after Kellen Winslow Jr. pleaded guilty to raping an unconscious teen and committing sexual battery against an older woman.
Winslow Jr., 36, is the son of beloved Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow Sr., 62, who starred as a tight end for the San Diego Chargers in the 1980s.
Winslow Jr. copped a plea and admitted he raped an unconscious 17-year-old girl during a 2003 incident and now faces up to 18 years in prison. This is but part of a multipronged case. ESPN reports that the younger Winslow was found guilty in June of four counts of sexual assault against much older women, some of them elderly.
While he was found guilty in June on four counts, the jury was deadlocked on the remaining eight charges. Winslow Jr. would have faced life in prison if the case had returned to trial and he was found guilty on those eight charges.
As a result of the plea deal, Winslow Jr. is found guilty of sexual battery for raping a 54-year-old woman in his Jeep and the rape of the unconscious teen. The state, in return, agreed to drop the other six charges.
According to ESPN, Winslow Jr. begged the judge to give him the minimum sentence of 12 years so that he could see his family. Meanwhile, Kellen Winslow Sr. was overcome with emotion at how the case concluded because his son initially vowed to prove his innocence.
At one point, ESPN pointed out, Winslow Sr. angrily barked at the prosecutor “Do not look over here.”
Kellen Winslow Sr.’s heartbreak over his son is twofold. Not only is he losing his son for the better part of two decades — the sentencing is set for February 2020 — but Winslow Jr. was supposed to create a football dynasty at the tight end position.
Kellen Winslow Jr. came to national prominence — for both his skillset and explosive temper — at the University of Miami at the turn of the century. He was a high first-round NFL draft pick of the Cleveland Browns.
The younger Winslow wound up playing for a decade in the NFL (2004-2013) and making the Pro Bowl in 2007, but sports pundits point to Winslow Jr. as a player with unlimited potential that went mostly unfulfilled.
