Kellen Winslow II Asks for Sentence Reduction in Rape Case

Former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow II, the legendary Charger’s namesake and NFL Hall of Famer, is seeking to reduce his 14-year prison sentence in his rape case, claiming he qualifies for a more favorable sentence because of new sentencing laws in the state that favor cheaters who suffered childhood trauma.

Winslow’s petition, filed in a state appeals court, argues that his stepfather physically abused him and two cousins ​​sexually abused him when he was a child, causing psychological damage that would qualify him for a lesser sentence than the one he received in March 2021 by a Vista Superior Court judge. Winslow also argued that suspected brain damage from playing football — he estimated in an affidavit that he had suffered “probably 100 concussions” — contributed to the trauma that should qualify him for the lesser sentence.

“Plaintiff is not seeking release from prison at this time, but he does meet the criteria for punitive damages … given the trauma (brain damage) he suffered in his life as a football player, the physical and sexual abuse he was subjected to as a child, and the impact of his debilitating motorcycle accident,” his attorney wrote in a petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed last week in California’s 4th District Court of Appeals.

Winslow, 41, grew up in San Diego and attended Patrick Henry and Scripps Ranch High Schools before playing football for the University of Miami. He was the sixth draft pick in 2004 and played 10 seasons in the NFL, ending in 2013. He reportedly earned more than $40 million during his NFL career.

Winslow was convicted in a 2019 trial of raping a 58-year-old homeless woman he persuaded to meet for coffee. The jury also convicted him of sexual misconduct charges for exposing himself to a 57-year-old neighbor in Encinitas and of lewd conduct toward a 77-year-old woman at a Carlsbad gym.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on several counts relating to two other alleged rapes, one in 2003 involving an unconscious teenager — the girl was 17 while Winslow was 19 at the time — and one in 2018 involving a 54-year-old hitchhiker in Encinitas. On the day he was to be retried for those incidents, and facing the possibility of life in prison if found guilty, he instead pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

With the jury convictions and guilty pleas combined, he initially faced a sentence of 12 to 18 years, after which he negotiated a 14-year prison sentence. At sentencing, Superior Court Judge Blaine Bowman described Winslow as a “sexual predator … (who) exploits vulnerable victims and is very brazen in the way he carries out his crimes.” The judge ordered Winslow to register as a sex offender for life.

During the sentencing, Bowman rejected defense arguments that Winslow’s behavior could have been the result of repeated head injuries, arguing that the 2003 incident occurred before Winslow began playing in the NFL.

Winslow has appealed his sentence several times in the years since his incarceration, but to no avail. Once, he asked for a reduced sentence for the time he was out on bail but wore a GPS monitor. Last year, Winslow, representing himself, filed a petition for a reduced sentence on the same grounds as his latest attempt.

This time, Winslow is represented by Patrick Ford, an appellate specialist in San Diego.

“The bulk of his claim has to do with the repeated head injuries and all the trauma he’s suffered from playing football,” Ford said Friday. Ford said it’s likely Winslow has Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease common in people who have suffered multiple concussions and brain injuries, including football players. CTE can’t be diagnosed until after a person has died, but Winslow’s petition argues that medical tests have shown signs consistent with traumatic brain injury and that mental health screenings have revealed symptoms often associated with CTE.

“The legislature believes that people who have suffered such a trauma are less culpable than people who have done the same thing without suffering that trauma,” Ford said.

The two state laws in question are Assembly Bill 124 and Senate Bill 567. The Assembly legislation requires a trial judge, absent certain aggravating factors, to sentence a defendant to the lesser of three possible sentences if “the person has experienced psychological, physical, or childhood trauma, including, but not limited to, abuse, neglect, exploitation, or sexual violence.” The Senate legislation requires judges to presume that the middle of three possible sentences is appropriate, absent certain aggravating factors.

“I believe the new laws apply to my case because of the brain damage caused by years of playing soccer, the additional brain damage I suffered in a serious motorcycle accident in 2005, and the physical and sexual abuse I suffered as a child,” Winslow wrote in an affidavit that is an exhibit to his petition.

It’s unclear whether Winslow actually qualifies for relief under the laws, both of which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022. Winslow had already been convicted at that point, but in his petition he argues that the laws can be applied retroactively.

Ford said the appeals court will review Winslow’s petition and decide whether the California attorney general’s office should respond. If the appeals court does not deny the petition, the next step would be an evidentiary hearing before a San Diego Superior Court judge. A three-judge appeals panel would then rule on the legal issues in the case. If the appeals judges ultimately find that Winslow qualified for relief under the new laws, a San Diego judge would resentence him.