Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been accused of sexual or civil assault more women, according to lawsuits filed in Harris County this week. One of the women, claiming that Watson exposed herself to her and forced her to touch his genitals during a massage, accused him of being a “serial predator.”
In the past two weeks, 16 women – all health and wellness industry service workers – have said they were attacked by Watson after he hired them for a massage during separate incidents in 2020 and 2021. A Watson attorney has sued the seven lawsuits . filed last week “without merit,” telling CBS News 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 one lawsuit, a woman alleges that Watson, 25, forced her to perform oral sex with him during a massage in December 2020. The woman alleges that after Watson ‘aggressively began dictating the massage and where he wanted the plaintiff to be on his body ‘, he began forcibly telling her to move her hand to his pubic area before forcing her to perform oral sex with him. .
The lawsuit says that out of fear, the victim was “darkened” for a few minutes during the encounter, and was “confused” and “terrified”.
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The other sexual abuse lawsuit alleges that Watson exposed himself and asked a woman to massage his genital area during a massage in August 2020. Watson then allegedly forced the woman to perform oral sex with him, putting his legs around her. beaten her neck and told her to engage in more sexual acts.
In the other lawsuits, women allege similar experiences of Watson exposing himself, aggressively urging them to touch inappropriate parts of his body, and in some cases, touch them with his genitals. In those lawsuits, Watson is accused of, among other things, civil assault and deliberately inflicting emotional distress.
In several cases, Watson has been accused of making threatening remarks against the women to prevent them from coming forward. After an incident where 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 have it. would hate if someone messed with yours, just like I don’t want anyone messing with mine. “
A lawyer, Tony Buzbee, represents all 16 women. Buzbee said this weekend that he intended to turn the evidence over to Houston police and ask a grand jury to review the allegations, according to CBS partner KHOU.
When Buzbee announced that he had filed the first lawsuit last week, Watson made a statement denying that he had ever treated a woman with “anything but the greatest of respect.”
“The prosecution’s attorney claims it’s not about money, but before filing a lawsuit, he made an unfounded claim for a six-figure settlement, which I quickly turned down,” Watson said. “Unlike him, this isn’t about money for me – it’s about clearing my name, and I’m looking forward to doing that.”
In a statement to CBS News on Tuesday, Watson’s lawyer said he believes “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 with him during the December massage is “completely false.” The attorney made a statement from Watson’s marketing manager, claiming that in January 2021 he spoke to a person he believes is the plaintiff.
The marketing manager claimed the prosecution admitted she had a consensual meeting with Watson, but asked for $ 30,000 for “indefinite silence” about her meeting. The manager said he did not provide the money.
The NFL is investigating the allegations. The Texans said the team will “keep in close touch” with the league and “will continue to take this and all matters involving anyone within the Houston Texans organization seriously.”