Former Jets tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. broke his silence Tuesday on the rape charges he faces in connection to three different women, claiming the allegations are nothing more than a “money grab.”
Winslow, 35, who was charged with multiple counts of kidnapping, rape, indecent exposure and burglary in July, commented on the allegations for the first time as he exited a California courtroom with his wife and attorney, KSWB reports.
“Yeah, man, I’m innocent, you know?” Winslow told a reporter outside the courtroom in Vista. “To the people who know me out there, who know what type of person I am, know my character, my NFL friends and family, and just my regular friends and family, they know who I am, and I’m an innocent guy. I’m an innocent man.”
Asked how he was processing the accusations, Winslow replied: “It’s a money grab. It’s a money grab and unfortunately, that’s the society we live in now. And you know, that’s all I got. Thanks.”
Winslow, who last played for the Jets in 2013, has been accused of raping an unconscious 17-year-old girl during a party at a home in San Diego in 2003 when he was 19 years old. The league’s one-time highest-paid tight end also allegedly kidnapped and raped a 54-year-old transient woman who had been hitchhiking in March.
In May, Winslow allegedly raped another homeless 58-year-old woman. The former All-Pro was originally arrested in June on burglary charges, which were later reduced to misdemeanors.
A trial date for Winslow, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges he faces, could be set during his arraignment, which was rescheduled on Tuesday for Nov. 15, KSWB reports.
If convicted, Winslow faces up to life in prison.