Deshaun Watson Faces 23rd Lawsuit Alleging Sexual Misconduct, Five Accusers Reportedly Involve Police

The newly filed lawsuit alleges Watson committed sexual misconduct during two massage sessions. Five accusers have reportedly spoken to Houston police.

Editor’s note: This story contains a detailed account of sexual misconduct.

A new civil lawsuit was filed against Deshaun Watson in Texas on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases listed on the Harris County District Clerk's website to 23. 

One of the first 22 was dropped this week, and court documents say it was dropped "for now" in light of privacy concerns. Five accusers have spoken to Houston police to file criminal reports, according to a statement from Tony Buzbee, civil attorney of the plaintiffs, in the Washington Post.

However, Houston Police Department told Defector's Kalyn Kahler that they are not releasing any information except that there are two active criminal investigations pertaining "to an incident of a sexual assault."

The plaintiff of the new lawsuit, who is named in the filing, alleges that "Watson assaulted and harassed [her] by exposing himself, touching her with his penis and groping her." The plaintiff is a freelance makeup artist and markets her business through Instagram. 

When Watson reached out to her and asked if she was an aesthetician, the plaintiff made it clear that she was not, according to the lawsuit. He then asked if she offered massages, to which she responded "yes." 

The Texans quarterback allegedly requested that she come to his house on Sept. 2, 2020, for the massage. The woman says Watson asked if she was okay with him being naked, to which she "tried to hide her dismay and said 'yes' because she did not want to lose him as a client." 

The filings says that Watson instructed her to "focus on his upper thighs, glutei, groin and lower abdomen area," and kept asking her to move closer to his groin.

When he flipped over, Watson was exposed, and allegedly "kept directing her to go closer to his [private parts]." When the plaintiff had "inevitably grazed his penis" due to the movements he requested, Watson allegedly responded, "That felt good, do it again." 

The plaintiff started working differently to avoid that scenario, and Watson, according to the filing, asked if there was a problem. When she stated she wanted to remain professional, he said, "you can grab it if you want to."

She stopped and started massaging his upper thighs instead, and Watson ended the massage. 

VRENTAS: A Massage Therapist on Her Session With Deshaun Watson

The Texans quarterback contacted her more than six times for another massage, and he "booked, canceled or rescheduled" numerous times, the lawsuit says. 

Late at night on Nov. 17, 2020, he contacted the plaintiff for a massage. This time, he allegedly chose to lay exposed and face-up despite the plaintiff telling him she wanted to keep things professional.

The filing states that at first, Watson did not "instruct her to move to areas that made her uncomfortable." Then, he allegedly started to pressure her and "grew visibly agitated." 

The plaintiff grew "mentally beat" as the session continued, according to the lawsuit, and in an effort to end it, did as Watson allegedly instructed and touched his penis.

Watson allegedly kept trying to kiss her, started groping the plaintiff's thighs and butt and asked her to take her pants off before the session ended.

The Texans quarterback faces more than 20 civil lawsuits, which were filed between March 16 and April 14, alleging sexual harassment and assault during massage appointments over the last year, including one earlier this March.

The allegations range from refusing to cover his genitals to forcing women to give him oral sex.

In addition to the civil lawsuits, Houston Police Department released a statement on April 2 stating that someone had filed a criminal report on Watson.