Winslow gets 15 years in prison
Michael Winslow, 80, of Olney, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison on Nov. 8 after District Judge Stephen Bristow ruled that he violated conditions of his 2021 sentence for inappropriate conduct with a minor at his residence.
In October 2021, Mr. Winslow pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 10 years of deferred adjudication community supervision. The conditions of his supervision included a ban on viewing pornography, prohibitions on contact with minors, a ban on alcohol and drug use, and mandatory participation in a sex offender treatment program.
He will serve at least half of the sentence at a Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division facility before he can be considered for parole, Assistant District Attorney Jamie Rae Petruzzi said.
During a hearing on Oct. 29, Young County officials testified that Mr. Winslow admitted to viewing pornographic material involving children and repeatedly violating no-contact orders with the victim’s family, among many other violations, Ms. Petruzzi said.
Ronda Holler, a counselor with the Sex Offender Treatment Program, and Young County Probation Officer Spencer Key testified that Mr. Winslow admitted to violating these conditions between April 2022 and March 2024.
“They try to work with probationers … and that’s what happened with Winslow. He had a few violations and it kept building and then it wasn’t just a few anymore and they were big ones,” she said.
“He also admitted to unauthorized contact with minors via Face-Time, drinking alcohol, and missing mandatory sex offender counseling sessions, all of which were against the terms of his plea deal,” she said.
The probation department filed a notice in April that Mr. Winslow had violated his probation. Mrs. Petruzzi said “the case provided an example of why partners of abusers should contact law enforcement if they suspect that anyone in their family is being abused.”
“We at the 90th Judicial District hope that anybody who comes across a crime, whether it’s a loved one who committed it or you realize that your child has been victimized, we encourage you to make a report to police or to Child Protective Services, even though it might be scary or that it might have bad repercussions,” she said. “These kinds of crimes almost always lead to more victims and it’s usually only after law enforcement gets involved that the bad person is truly brought to justice and victims are truly able to heal.”
Mr. Winslow’s wife, Judi, testified at the sentencing hearing that she was aware of some of her husband’s violations of the conditions of his sentence, Mrs. Petruzzi said.
“Perhaps Mr. Winslow would not be able to have had as many victims as he did if the right thing had been done at the beginning,” she said.
Perpetrators of child sex crimes often place themselves in prominent positions within the community to avoid detection, she said.
“Mr. Winslow involved himself in a lot of things like the STEM program, the Air Force, and he was a deacon at his church … where he hid behind credentials, and academics. He was a wolf in sheep’s skin. I think people need to be aware of who they are around.”
Victims are eligible for mental health counseling and other services through the state, she said.
“The 90th Judicial District Attorney’s Office wants to thank law enforcement and the Probation Department, specifically Probation Officer Spencer Key and Therapist Ronda Holler for playing a key role in the supervision and accountability of sex offenders in our community,” Mrs. Petruzzi said.