Sixteen women filed civil lawsuits accusing Deshaun Watson of varying degrees of sexual assault, casting doubt on the future of the Houston Texans quarterback. Watson denied any wrongdoing in a general statement last week.
However, amid the pile of lawsuits, one that opened Tuesday afternoon in Harris County, Texas, may be the most problematic for Watson.
It includes a potential criminal act, possible physical evidence and several contemporary reporting scores that experts say are critical in this type of situation. It also reflects many of the other allegations and potentially reinforces them due to the date of the act and the woman’s real-time reporting.
“This is clearly the most credible and clearly the one that could pose criminal problems for Watson,” said Craig Mordock, a New Orleans lawyer who often deals with the defense of sexual assault and also represented victims of sexual assault in civil matters and criminal offenses.
Many of Jane Doe 15’s claims are similar to those of other women, each of whom Watson hired to provide massages. In May 2020, she said Watson contacted her via Instagram looking for a massage that focused on her “‘groin area’, her ‘buttocks’ and her ‘lower abs’. “
Doe 15 was surprised that a famous NFL quarterback came to her. She claimed that she informed him that she was a licensed personal trainer, not a massage therapist. She could help with post-workout muscle therapy, but “massages were not her specialty”.
Watson was not intimidated and scheduled her to come to his home on May 28, according to the lawsuit. She arrived and Watson took her to the theater room, where she settled in before Watson returned wearing only a towel.
Donate 15 claimed in his lawsuit that when Watson “finally fell on his back, the towel fell off [and] … Watson was completely naked and exposed his penis to the Claimant. Watson also moved his penis into the Plaintiff’s hand. Watson had a pre-ejaculation leak from his penis, which reached the Claimant’s hand. The Plaintiff felt like throwing up. “
Doe 15 said she was confused and upset and chose to end the massage session. She said she left shortly after.
Watson’s actions are a potential violation of 22,012 of the Texas penal code – indecent assault – which is punishable by up to a year in prison or a $ 4,000 fine.
“If what happened is as described in the process, then it is an absolutely indecent assault,” said Mordock.
Watson could face more serious crime sexual assault charges based on Jane Doe No. 3 and No. 9 allegations about forced oral sex, however, these civil suits do not indicate a level of contemporary accusation that Jane Doe 15 makes.
“When the Claimant came home that day,” the suit says, “the Claimant immediately called her mother and her best friend to tell them what happened and said she was traumatized … The Claimant also received a text message from Watson that same day asking if she was OK. The Applicant did not respond. For weeks after that, Watson repeatedly contacted the Author asking if he could hire her again. The Plaintiff ignored the requests or said that she was very busy. “
The fact that Doe 15 claims to have told two people – his mother and his best friend – that same day about what was supposed to happen can provide significant credibility to his claim. Your story is recorded. Both individuals can be called to testify in a civil or criminal action.
“This is a contemporary report,” said Mordock. “It is the key to these cases. It signals that the alleged victim in the case knew it was serious enough that she had to tell someone immediately. They knew something was wrong right away.
“So you make him ask if she’s okay?” Mordock continued. “This is not a particularly good fact for Watson. And then she refuses to get involved with him. “
The lawsuit did not include any of the alleged direct messages or text conversations between the two. There would, however, be records of any communication between them if they did occur, as Jane Doe 15 claims.
Jane Doe 15 is, as the nickname suggests, the 15th woman to file a lawsuit against Watson. All plaintiffs have the same lawyer, Tony Buzbee, which Watson’s team has suggested undermines his credibility.
Although it is not known when Doe 15 contacted Buzbee, the timing of her lawsuit, a full week after Jane Doe 1 made her allegations public, suggests that she enlisted after the news was released.
If that is the case, then her contemporary report on May 28 could potentially offer proof that she is not just imitating the stories of other massage therapists. In fact, she established the story before any of them started telling very similar ones. Her account would be the first known and, as what she told her mother and friend would be unknown to others, this, in turn, makes the stories that followed more credible.
“It matches almost every other description, but she reported it in May, when she knew nothing about any other woman or any other complaint and no other woman knew about it,” said Mordock.
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