Deshaun Watson faces new lawsuit from 25th woman for alleged incident in December 2020
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has been sued again for alleged sexual misconduct during a massage session, this time by a licensed massage therapist who said he pressured her into oral sex at The Houstonian hotel in Houston in December 2020.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Harris County, Texas, by a woman under the pseudonym Jane Doe. She is the 25th woman to file suit and press similar misconduct claims against Watson in civil court. But it is the first since Watson was suspended by the NFL for 11 games. It also is the first lawsuit filed by a different plaintiffs’ attorney other than Tony Buzbee.
Of the previous 24 lawsuits, 23 have reached undisclosed settlement agreements, according to Buzbee, with only one remaining active before the new one was filed Thursday.
The new lawsuit outlines a similar narrative as the others, but it’s unclear if it will have any bearing on his suspension since it happened during the same time frame as the other encounters from 2020 to early 2021, when Watson played for the Houston Texans.
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Like many of the other lawsuits, the new one says Watson contacted the woman on Instagram. She agreed to meet him at the hotel, where he also met plaintiffs in some other cases. After removing his clothes in the bathroom, the suit said he came out wearing only a towel and later pressured the woman into massaging his private area.
“At some point during the massage, Watson removed his towel and offered to let her `get on top,’” the new lawsuit states. “Plaintiff refused to have sex with Watson, however, he was able to pressure her into oral sex.”
It says Watson paid her $300 for her services, although her normal charge is $115 for an hour massage. She is seeking damages for her claims of civil assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The lawsuit states Watson caused her to “experience mental suffering by forcing her to engage in sexual acts against her will.”
Watson has denied such allegations since the first lawsuit was filed in March 2021. The 25 lawsuits do not include another lawsuit that was filed in March 2021 but was later abandoned by that plaintiff in April 2021.
Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment. Neither did the NFL or the woman’s attorneys from the firm Universal Law Group in Houston.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson faces new lawsuit
