Ex-NFL player Kellen Winslow Jr pleads not guilty to rape

Posted June 15, 2018 7:00 am

The Associated Press

Former NFL football player Kellen Winslow Jr. leaves his arraignment Friday, June 15, 2018, in Vista, Calif. The former tight end was arrested Thursday on charges of rape and other sex crimes, the day he was to appear in court on an unrelated burglary charge. (Hayne Palmour/San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, Pool) The Associated Press

VISTA, Calif. (AP) - Former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was jailed without bail Friday after pleading not guilty to multiple counts of kidnapping, rape and other charges.

The 34-year-old Winslow was ordered to return to San Diego County Superior Court on June 25 for a preliminary hearing.

If convicted, Winslow could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

His attorney, Brian Watkins, did not immediately respond to a message left at his office.

Prosecutors say Winslow began a crime spree last March that included rapes, kidnappings, indecent exposure and burglary and continued until just before his arrest this week.

According to charging documents, he allegedly kidnapped and raped a 54-year-old woman on March 13 and then a 59-year-old woman on May 13.

On May 24, prosecutors say, he exposed himself in a public place, the location of which wasn't disclosed.

The burglary charges involved alleged break-ins at the home of a 71-year-old woman on June 1 and an 86-year-old woman on June 7.

Winslow was originally arrested June 7 in the burglary case. After posting bail he was arrested again Thursday on the additional charges. On Friday, Superior Court Judge Robert Dahlquist ordered him held without bail.

The son of Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow, the younger Winslow spent 10 seasons in the NFL from 2004-13 with Cleveland, Tampa Bay, New England and the New York Jets. The former University of Miami star had 469 catches for 5,236 yards and 25 touchdowns in 105 games.

Once NFL's highest-paid tight end, he was suspended in 2013 with the Jets for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. In November 2013, he was arrested after a woman told police she saw him masturbating in a parked car outside of a New Jersey department store. Winslow was arrested for possession of synthetic marijuana, and the charge was dropped after he completed court-ordered terms.

Drafted No. 6 overall by Cleveland, he broke his right leg in his rookie season, then sustained a serious right knee injury in a motorcycle accident that offseason.

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Former NFL football player Kellen Winslow Jr., second from right, stands behind lawyers Brian Watkins, third from right, and Harvey Steinberg, right, during his arraignment Friday, June 15, 2018, in Vista, Calif. The former tight end was arrested Thursday on charges of rape and other sex crimes, the day he was to appear in court on an unrelated burglary charge. (Hayne Palmour/San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, Pool) The Associated Press

Former NFL football player Kellen Winslow Jr., center, looks through protective glass during his arraignment Friday, June 15, 2018, in Vista, Calif. The former tight end was arrested Thursday on charges of rape and other sex crimes, the day he was to appear in court on an unrelated burglary charge. (Hayne Palmour/San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, Pool) The Associated Press

Former NFL football player Kellen Winslow leaves an arraignment for his son, former NFL football player Kellen Winslow Jr., Friday, June 15, 2018, in Vista, Calif. Winslow Jr., a former tight end, was arrested Thursday on charges of rape and other sex crimes, the day he was to appear in court on an unrelated burglary charge. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) The Associated Press

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