Source: Nick Cammett / Getty
It turns out Deshaun Watson’s sexual assault cases aren’t behind him.
The embattled Cleveland Browns quarterback has been accused again of sexual misconduct by another massage therapist who says he pressured her to give him oral sex during a 2020 therapy session at a hotel in the Houston area.
The woman, who has chosen to remain anonymous and go by Jane Doe, is a licensed therapist and filed the suit Thursday. In the suit, she says that contact with Watson began back in December 2020 when he DM’d her on Instagram and requested a massage.
This was at the height of COVID while the woman was working from home, so she agreed to meet Watson at The Houstonian hotel.
But once in the room together, things got weird, with the suit alleging that “Watson removed his towel and offered to let her ‘get on top.’ Plaintiff refused to have sex with Watson, however, he was able to pressure her into oral sex with the Defendant.”
For their interaction, Watson paid her $300, more than her usual $115 an hour.
The victim’s attorney released a statement to ESPN revealing that her situation was similar to the predicament more than 20 other women have been put in, and the aftereffects have been harsh.
“My client’s experience with Deshaun Watson follows a series of disturbingly similar encounters reported by more than 20 women who have filed suit against the NFL superstar,” the woman’s lawyer, Anissah Nguyen, told ESPN.”Like so many others, my client spent nearly two years struggling to cope with the shame and trauma from all that he has stolen from her and the daily pain that has become her reality.”
“Knowing her story will bring on the hard conversations, criticism and even victim-blaming, the strength and bravery of these other women gave my client the courage to stand up and speak out,” she continued. “She seeks justice not only for herself and her own healing, but for the more than 20 women who refused to be shamed into silence, and the victims who have yet to come forward.”
In June, Watson settled out of court in 20 of the currently outstanding 24 sexual misconduct cases against him. All of these stem from a 17-month stint of up to 66 masseuses whom he propositioned for sexual favors while giving him massages at his home and hotels.
