Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been charged with sexual or civil assault for more women, according to lawsuits filed this week in Harris County. One of the women, who claims that Watson exposed himself to her and forced her to touch his genitals during a massage, accused him of being a “serial predator”.
Over the past two weeks, 16 women, all service workers in the health and wellness industry, have said they were assaulted by Watson after he hired them for a massage during separate incidents in 2020 and 2021. A lawyer for Watson has called the seven lawsuits. filed last week “without merit”, and told CBS News on Tuesday that “any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false.”
Two of the 16 women are suing Watson for sexual assault. In a lawsuit, a woman alleges that 25-year-old Watson forced her to perform oral sex on him during a massage in December 2020. The woman claims that after Watson “began aggressively dictating the massage and where he wanted the plaintiff to do so touch her body, “he began to” forcefully tell her to move his hand toward her pubic area “before forcing her to perform oral sex on him. .
The lawsuit says the victim “lost consciousness” for a few minutes out of fear during the encounter, and was “confused” and “terrified.”
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The other sexual assault lawsuit claims that Watson exposed himself and asked a woman to massage his genital area during a massage in August 2020. Then, Watson allegedly forced the woman to perform oral sex on him, circling her neck with his fingers. legs and told him to perform more sexual acts.
In the other lawsuits, the women allege similar experiences of Watson exposing himself, aggressively directing them to touch inappropriate areas of his body, and, in some cases, touching them with his genitals. In those lawsuits, Watson faces charges that include civil battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In several cases, Watson is accused of making threatening comments to women to prevent them from coming out. After an incident in which Watson allegedly exposed himself and touched a woman’s hand with the tip of his penis, he is accused of telling her: “I know you have a career and a reputation, and I know you would hate for someone to mess with it. yours. Like I don’t want anyone messing with mine. “
An attorney, Tony Buzbee, represents the 16 women. Buzbee said this weekend that he planned to turn over the evidence to the Houston Police Department and would request that a grand jury review the allegations, according to CBS affiliate KHOU.
When Buzbee announced that he had filed the first of the lawsuits last week, Watson issued a statement denying that he had ever treated a woman with “anything other than the utmost respect.”
“The plaintiff’s attorney claims it’s not about money, but before he filed the lawsuit he made an unfounded six-figure settlement claim, which I quickly rejected,” Watson said. “Unlike him, for me it’s not about money, it’s about clearing my name, and I hope I can do it.”
In a statement to CBS News on Tuesday, Watson’s attorney said he believes that “any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false.”
The lawyer also said he had “strong evidence” that the claim that Watson forced a woman to perform oral sex on him during the December massage is “completely false.” The attorney provided a statement from Watson’s marketing manager, who claims he spoke to a person he believes is the plaintiff in that case in January 2021.
The marketing manager alleged that the plaintiff admitted that she had a consensual encounter with Watson, but requested $ 30,000 for “indefinite silence” about their encounter. The manager said he did not provide the money.
The NFL is investigating the allegations. The Texans said the team will stay in “close contact” with the league and “continue to take this and all matters involving anyone within the Houston Texans organization.”