Kellen Winslow II sentenced to 14 years in prison for sex assault crimes

March 3 (UPI) — Former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow II was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Wednesday after being convicted of multiple sexual assault offenses.

The sentence was the maximum allowed under the plea deal Winslow, 37, agreed to last month for crimes including two rapes, one assault with intent to commit rape, a case of a misdemeanor and indecent exposure and another case of lewd conduct.

Winslow appeared in court via videoconference but did not speak ahead of the hearing.

“Your honor, I’ve been advised by my lawyer not to speak right now,” he said. “But in the future, I do plan to tell my story.”

Police arrested Winslow in June 2018 on suspicion of kidnapping a 55-year-old hitchhiker, and two separate 2018 indecent exposure charges.

He was then charged in July of that year for the rape of a 17-year-old after a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to move forward with the case.

A year later, Winslow was convicted of raping a 59-year-old homeless woman in May 2018; exposing himself to a 59-year-old woman, a neighbor, that same month; and fondling himself in front of a 78-year-old woman in February 2019.

The jury did not come to an agreement on the alleged rape of the hitchhiker or of the 17-year-old.

San Diego County Superior Court Judge Blaine Bowman described Winslow as a sexual predator, saying he brazenly continued to harass women after his first arrest.

Bowman said Winslow specifically targeted women he viewed as vulnerable with the belief that he would be able to get away with the crimes.

“The vulnerability of the victims was no accident. It was the type of victim that you sought out yourself because you felt that perhaps they wouldn’t report the crime,” he said.

The homeless woman Winslow was convicted of raping said Wednesday that his actions affect her life “every day and every night.”

“When I stay at my brother’s house I look under beds, in closets. And I’ll probably never stop. I’ll never feel safe inside or outside. You brought so much damage to my life,” she said.

Winslow’s attorney Marc Carlos said he sustained head trauma during his NFL career that led him to go “off the rails,” adding that he acknowledges the responsibility of his actions and plans to seek help.