The Kellen Winslow Trial
Starcks
Recently, former University of Miami star Kellen Winslow Jr. was accused of and found guilty of raping a 58-year-old homeless woman last year in north San Diego. This is very unsettling considering the success that this man has had over his life and career. The former pro bowler was at the top of his recruitment class, got drafted by the NFL, and played for numerous teams. Those teams included the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, and the New York Jets.
In 2008, Winslow appeared in the pro bowl. This same year, he was accused of a lewd act in front of a 77-year-old woman where he exposed himself to the woman in a hot tub in Carlsbad, but was found not guilty. Now, fast forward to the present, the rape case of a 58-year-old woman is potentially going to send him to prison for the rest of his life. This case is just one of the counts of rape that Winslow is being accused of. On Monday in San Diego, the Supreme Court in Vista was continuing to discuss and break down two more counts of rape involving a hitchhiker and an unconscious teenage girl. If he is found guilty on all counts it will be inevitable that he spends life in jail.
Prosecutors say that Winslow felt empowered about the fact that he was famous and felt he could abuse those who weren’t in such a position. All the women he is accused of assaulting, testified against him and elaborated on how they met him. The homeless woman in Encinitas who at the time was 58, testified that he had befriended her, and soon after attacked her in a nearby vehicle after an invite for some coffee. The hitchhiker, who is 54 years of age stated that in March of 2018, he drove her to a shopping center parking lot and eventually raped her inside of his Hummer. That same summer, a 57-year-old woman said that Winslow exposed himself and was touching and feeling on himself as she was tending to her garden. After all of these attacks came to the light, a 17-year old high school student came forward and confessed that in 2003, she was passed out after a party and woke up to find Winslow assaulting her.
This hectic timeline of events is uneasy to hear, but if he is indeed guilty of all of these crimes, I hope that justice will be served, and he gets his proper punishment.