Former Cleveland Browns star tight end Kellen Winslow II is seeking a reduction of his 14-year prison term which he was sentenced to in 2021 for a series of sex crimes he committed in California. Winslow, 41, submitted a petition citing new state criminal justice reform laws, specifically AB 124, which require prosecutors to consider “whether the person has experienced psychological, physical, or childhood trauma.” (Hayne Palmour/San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, Pool, File)AP
SAN DIEGO — Former Cleveland Browns star tight end Kellen Winslow II is seeking a reduction of his 14-year prison term which he was sentenced to in 2021 for a series of sex crimes he committed in California.
Winslow, 41, was sentenced in March 2021 for multiple rapes and sexual offenses against five women in San Diego County. The former NFL Pro Bowler was convicted of raping a 58-year-old homeless woman in Encinitas, California, in 2019; sexual battery of a 54-year-old hitchhiker in Encinitas in 2018; and raping an unconscious teenager in 2003, one year before he was drafted by the Browns.
Now, Winslow has submitted a petition to get his prison sentence reduced, citing new state criminal justice reform laws. The petition cites AB 124, which became law in California in 2021 and requires prosecutors, during plea negotiations, to consider “whether the person has experienced psychological, physical, or childhood trauma” or “was a victim of intimate partner violence or human trafficking.”
Winslow, in his petition, says he suffered past trauma, including sexual abuse as a youth and an estimated 100 concussions during his football playing career in high school, at the University of Miami and the NFL. He also cited a 2005 motorcycle accident in Rocky River, Ohio, in which he tore his ACL and was forced to miss that entire NFL season.
“Petitioner (Winslow) is not asking to be released from prison at this time, but he does meet the criteria for relief under AB 124, given the trauma (brain damage) he received in his life of football, physical and sexual abuse he was subjected to as a child, and the impact of his debilitating motorcycle accident,” said Winslow’s new petition submitted by Patrick Morgan Ford in San Diego, USA Today reports.
Winslow, who has been jailed at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco since 2019, is not eligible for parole until September 2028. His ex-wife, Janelle, filed for divorce in 2019.
“I am committed to being a productive person when released, and I will always feel remorse for what I did to the victims in my case,” Winslow wrote in a signed declaration attached to his petition.
“My goal was to become a better man and one day reunite with my wife, who stood by me for a long time, and my two children,” he added.
Winslow, a nine-year NFL veteran, was drafted by the Browns with the sixth overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. He played in two games as a rookie in 2004 and missed the 2005 season following the motorcycle accident, but the following season recorded 89 catches for 875 yards and three touchdowns, finishing fourth in AP Comeback Player of the Year voting. In 2007, Winslow earned his lone career Pro Bowl appearance after hauling in 82 receptions for 1,106 yards and five touchdowns for the Browns
After five seasons with the Browns, including the missed 2005 season, Winslow was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he played three seasons. He also played one season for the New England Patriots in 2012 and one season for the New York Jets in 2013 before retiring from the NFL.
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