Files detail accusations against Watson
Police obtain search warrants for app usage, social media posts by Texans quarterback
Houston police have at least nine reports accusing Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual misconduct during massage therapy sessions, with search warrant records showing that investigators are eyeing indecent assault — a misdemeanor crime — as a possible criminal charge.
The three search warrants — signed in October by a judge to collect data from Watson’s Instagram and Cash App usage — shed light on the Houston Police Department’s criminal investigation into the athlete, who has not been charged with a crime, amid months of litigation from nearly two dozen lawsuits. The search warrants detail accounts from nine women who say their encounters with Watson devolved from massages to misconduct.
The women reported receiving Cash App payments after the sessions, with some amounts ranging from $100 to $300, according to court records.
In two incidents at The Houstonian Hotel, the football player pressured the women into performing fellatio, court records show. One licensed massage therapist said Watson contacted her on Instagram and that they met in June 2020 for a massage without incident. During a second appointment at the Memorial-area hotel, he asked her for oral sex.
The woman “felt as if she had no choice,” the investigator wrote.
He met another massage therapist in December 2020 at the same hotel and asked again for oral sex.
“Watson expressed to her that he wanted to support her small business,” the investigator continued.
The investigator wrote that oral sex then happened and that Watson next masturbated. The therapist expected to receive $115 after the session but Watson instead paid her $300.
Much of the accusations outlined in the search warrants were already detailed in civil lawsuits against Watson, but investigators also revealed aspects of the case not previously made public using interviews that the Forensic Center of Excellence — a Houston group of forensic nurses who specializes in trauma — conducted with the accusers.
The Houston Police Department acknowledged in April its investigation into Watson but has declined to comment since. The civil litigation, meanwhile, is still pending. Defense: All consensual
Investigations by the FBI into Watson’s alleged behavior and the NFL are also happening. Watson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, has denied wrongdoing by the quarterback, saying any sexual encounters with massage therapists were consensual.
On Wednesday, Hardin said he welcomed the police department’s investigation into his client’s records.
The bulk of the incidents reported to police happened in 2020, but one of the women — also a licensed massage therapist — said Watson was inappropriate to her earlier than that, during sessions in September and October 2019 at his Westchase home. He showed her his erect penis during the first session and during the second, he asked her to massage around his genitals, according to the search warrants.
During a third session, Watson said he wanted the massage to end with sexual intercourse, documents continued.
Several incidents listed in the request for records happened through a Cypress Station-area business — A New U Salon Spa — whose owner arranged for Watson to meet at least two employees. He met one of those women in June 2020 during an appointment at a Home 2 Suites hotel.
During the massage, Watson “grinded (sic) his pelvis, grabbed her butt” and then caused his penis to touch her hand, the investigator wrote. He ejaculated on her. He ended the session by paying the owner — rather than the accuser — $100 through the Cash App.
Watson encountered the same woman again in August — this time acting with more physical force, according to the search warrant.
He told the woman during a session at the Cypress Station spa that he “wanted to ejaculate” and pulled her hand toward his buttocks, according to the search warrant.
“She’s good with her hands because she is a lesbian,” the woman alleged Watson as saying next. He then exposed his penis, tried to kiss her and “told her that she is not gay,” the documents continued.
When she pulled away, he grabbed the woman with his legs and slid her toward him. He then grabbed her head and pulled her face down — “trying to make her perform oral sex on him,” the investigator added. Still on roster
The next month, Watson was introduced to another woman at the Cypress Station spa. This time, he requested a photo of her when making the appointment and he had another request.
“Watson wanted the massage to be private and did not want to be seen,” according to the search warrant.
During that encounter, Watson tried kissing the woman. In October, he tried putting his hands into her scrubs and asked her to touch his genitals.
The athlete paid the owner and the accuser in separate payments, investigators said.
As the civil and criminal investigations continue, Watson remains on the Texans’ active roster amid possible trade talks.
However, he does not participate in games or attend practices.