A college football player has been convicted of raping a teen while on a 2023 cruise.
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According to the Miami Herald, Jalen Thomas Kelley, now 22, was found guilty of aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, and assault in connection to an incident onboard Carnival’s Legend vessel between Jan. 1 and January 2, 2023.
While on the cruise, Kelley, who was a running back at Wingate University, “forcibly raped” a teen after walking her back to his cabin when she was looking for a restroom. Prosecutors claim that after the two entered his room, Kelley pushed the victim “face first” onto the bed then raped her.
The prosecutors also stated that, by his own admission, Kelley saw she was intoxicated and realized how vulnerable she was. He then “took full advantage of the situation.”
After raping the teen, Kelley allegedly asked her, “You good?”
The victim then left his room, prosecutors said. After the cruise returned to a
Baltimore port, she and her family went home to Virginia. She reported the rape to her family and local law enforcement.
Kelley denied raping the teen when FBI agents visited him at Wingate University a few months after the cruise.
At the time, he had told the agents that he and the victim had kissed and touched each other before he let her use the bathroom. He also recalled thinking she was under the influence. No arrest was made then.
In late September 2023, the FBI arrested Kelley at Wingate University. Upon reading about the arrest, a female student came forward and claimed he had raped her as well.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Speaks Out Following Kelley’s Verdict
Just after the verdict was announced, the U.S. Attorney’s Office commented on the case.
“Sexual violence is a horrific violation of personal autonomy and will not be tolerated. We will hold perpetrators accountable,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron stated. “This verdict should send a message to survivors that they are heard, validated, and supported.”
The college football player was previously convicted of sexual assault as a minor in 2019.
“Kelley has an alarming history of allegations of sexual assault from males and females spanning from early 2017 through September 2023,” the prosecutors wrote in court documents.
Court documents revealed that, as of November 2023, there is an outstanding arrest warrant for the college football player for second-degree forcible rape in connection with the female college student.
Kelley faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.