Bolt
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- Mar 19, 2019
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On Tuesday, the prosecution began introducing its case-in-chief against former NFL player Kellen Winslow II. The prosecution may want a do-over.
The witnesses included Jane Doe No. 1, the first of five women alleging that Winslow committed sexual offenses against her. Jane Doe No. 1 accuses Winslow of rape.
She says that she was hitchhiking on March 17, 2018, and that a person who called himself “Dominique” gave her a ride. His demeanor soon turned, and he told her that if she did not have sex with him, he would kill her.
The details were graphic and at times confusing, as the duo left his car, climbed a fence in search of a place to engage in sexual activity, climbed back over the fence, and then returned to his car. The testimony, which featured via the live stream at CourtTV.com only the voice of the alleged victim, lacked the kind of raw emotion that would be expected from a person who had been forced (supposedly under threat of death) to engage in various forms of painful sexual activity with Winslow.
Then came the cross-examination, and attorney Marc Carlos in a calm but forceful way called the bulk of her allegations into question. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo.com has the details. Jane Doe No. 1 repeatedly admitted that she had easy opportunities to easily get away from her assailant and/or to seek help from others, but she never tried. She also was caught in various inconsistencies between past statements given to authorities and her in-court testimony, and she apparently lied about her history of alcohol consumption, opening the door to Carlos to challenge her claim that she hasn’t had a drink in three decades by proving that she has been arrested ELEVEN TIMES for public intoxication. (The presiding judge, per Wetzel, allowed only five of the arrests to be used before the jury.)
“You told the jury you haven’t drank in 30 years,” Carlos said at one point. “That is a lie.”
“I haven’t drank today,” she replied.
Winslow’s defense apparently won’t be contending that no sexual activity occurred, since his DNA was found on Jane Doe No. 1 when she reported the incident four days later. However, the notion that the sex was not consensual will be difficult for the prosecution to prove based on the deeply flawed testimony of Jane Doe No. 1.
As Wetzel notes, this doesn’t mean that Winslow will be acquitted. Four other victims will be testifying. But the first impression created by the prosecution was not a good one, to say the least.