Former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is accused in a new lawsuit of sexually abusing a Houston-area single mother

HOUSTON – A new lawsuit filed Monday afternoon in Harris County accuses former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexually assaulting a Houston-area woman in October 2020.

This woman is now suing him for at least one million dollars and is represented by the law firm of Tony Buzbee.

The complaint states that she and Watson met in July 2020 at a bar in the Galleria area. One of his friends approached her and said Watson wanted her phone number. Flattered, she gave it to the friend and the woman and Watson texted each other on and off for several months.

In October 2020, Watson asked the woman to meet him at the Galleria. She declined because she was hesitant to be seen with him in public and invited him to dinner at her apartment. She “was unaware of Watson's proclivities,” the lawsuit says.

When he arrived at her apartment for their appointment, he called the woman “aggressively screaming and yelling” because he could not find her apartment and “didn't have time for this.”

Watson arrived and the woman asked him to sit in her living room while she finished her makeup. To ease the tension after his “outburst,” she tried to have a conversation with him while he was in the other room, but he did not respond.

She left the bathroom to see why he was so quiet and “to his shock found him completely naked on her bed, lying face down on his stomach,” the lawsuit states.

Watson “aggressively” insisted that she massage him, pointing to his butt. She asked if he meant his back, but Watson indicated he wanted his butt massaged. She rubbed his back because she was “terrified at that point in the encounter,” the lawsuit says.

Watson wanted her to massage his bottom and was frustrated that she only massaged his back. “Watson then turned around, revealing an erection,” and then demanded that she massage him from his knees to his groin.

“Jane Doe froze in fear and did not know how to reject Watson's advances without compromising her safety. Confused and frightened, she reiterated to Watson that she was not a massage therapist.”

Watson asked her what she wanted to do instead, and before she could answer, he grabbed her and raped her, the lawsuit says.

She felt paralyzed and wasn't sure if she should risk her safety by trying to stop him. But she managed to escape him and ran to her dresser to grab a heavy decorative piece and defend herself. Then she yelled at him to get out of her apartment. She said he was angry when he left.

According to the lawsuit, the woman was initially hesitant to report the incident because she knew he was a local celebrity and she feared she would be humiliated and publicly attacked if she reported the incident.

“Later, she saw other women come forward. She felt encouraged and ready to come forward as well. But she saw how those women who had gone through the same things Watson had and had come forward were treated by Watson's defense team and the public. This was disheartening for Jane Doe,” the lawsuit states.

She eventually turned to Watson to resolve the issues without filing a lawsuit, but those efforts failed.

This is the first lawsuit against Watson specifically accusing him of sexual assault. Previously, Watson was accused in nearly two dozen lawsuits by massage therapists of harassing, assaulting or touching them during their appointments during his time as a Houston Texans player. In June 2022, Tony Buzbee announced that 20 of those 24 lawsuits had been settled.

In July 2022, 30 women who had accused the Texans of ignoring allegations against their former star quarterback reached an agreement to settle their claims against the team.

All of these allegations had an impact on Watson's career. He did not play a single game in the 2021 season. In the spring of 2022, Watson was traded to the Cleveland Browns. An NFL investigation into the allegations resulted in him being suspended for 11 games with the Browns and the league fining him $5 million for violating the NFL's rules of conduct, NFL.com reports.

To date, he has neither been arrested nor charged with a crime.

Watson has long denied any wrongdoing, and two separate grand juries in Texas declined to indict him.

The woman in the new lawsuit filed Monday said she is experiencing severe mental anguish, panic attacks, nervous breakdowns and trouble sleeping. She also suffers from depression and anxiety.

“Survivors of sexual assault want two things. They want to heal from their trauma and they want accountability,” said Houston trauma therapist Chau Nguyen. “She's finally got the courage to speak up, and sometimes it takes years to get that kind of justice.”

She is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, some of which are unlimited but, according to the lawsuit, would amount to at least one million dollars.

She also demands a jury trial and that Watson pay all legal costs.

When asked by KPRC 2 about the legal dispute, a spokesperson for the league said they were aware of the legal matter and could not comment at this time.

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