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John BarrESPN.com
The attorney for the woman who earlier this month became the latest plaintiff to file a lawsuit against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson alleging sexual assault during a massage session has accused Watson’s attorneys of trying to “victim-shame” and “bully” her client into dropping her lawsuit.
In the lawsuit filed earlier this month, the woman, who initially sued Watson under the pseudonym Jane Doe before amending the suit to include her name after a court order, alleged that Watson attempted to pressure her into “massaging his private area” and having sex and, ultimately, “was able to pressure her into oral sex” during a December 2018 massage at the Houstonian hotel. She alleged Watson paid her $300 for her services, “although her normal charge was $115 for an hour massage,” according to the lawsuit.
Within days of that lawsuit being filed, Watson’s attorney filed a series of court motions seeking to undermine the woman’s allegations. Among the evidence cited by Watson’s attorneys:
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They noted that the woman’s allegations were “considered — and ultimately rejected” by Houston police, who interviewed her as early as April 2021.
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They included a transcript of a November 2021 statement they say the woman provided to a paralegal at the law firm of Rusty Hardin, Watson’s Houston-based attorney, in which the woman stated: “I wasn’t scared, I wasn’t intimidated. I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do. I didn’t do anything to where I didn’t feel like it was safe.”
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They provided the court screenshots of Instagram direct messages, some of a sexually explicit nature, which suggest the woman was interested in having a relationship with Watson
Citing that evidence and more, Watson’s attorneys also filed a motion with the court seeking sanctions against Anissah Nguyen, the Houston attorney representing the woman suing Watson.
In a response filed Sunday, Nguyen accused Watson’s lawyers of “essentially trying to publicly humiliate, bully and intimidate” her client. “It is a shameful and poor attempt by Watson to harm Plaintiff’s reputation and victim-shame her for having the audacity to file suit against Watson,” Nguyen wrote in court filings.
The lawsuit filed by Nguyen’s client is the 26th known civil case filed against Watson, accusing him of inappropriate sexual misconduct or sexual assault during massage sessions. Watson’s attorneys have said in court filings that the evidence in this latest case “undeniably establishes that while this may be a case of unrequited love, under no stretch of the imagination is this a case of assault.”
Nguyen says much of that evidence is not admissible and claimed in this week’s court filings that the screenshots of Instagram direct messages offered as evidence by Watson’s attorneys “appear to be fabricated” in an effort to destroy her client’s credibility.
Watson is currently serving an 11-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. He was also fined $5 million and has had to undergo a mandatory treatment program. Watson can’t practice with the Browns again until Nov. 14 and won’t be eligible to play until Week 13, when the Browns travel to face his former team, the Texans, in Houston on Dec. 4.
Source: www.espn.com