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Lawsuit accuses Browns’ Deshaun Watson of sexual abuse and assault
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Lawsuit accuses Browns’ Deshaun Watson of sexual abuse and assault

A new civil lawsuit was filed in Houston on Monday accusing Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and battery in October 2020 while he was a member of the Houston Texans.

According to the complaint, the alleged incident occurred before Watson and a woman, identified in court documents by the pseudonym “Jane Doe,” were to have dinner with the woman at her apartment.

The lawsuit says Watson met the woman, a single mother, at a Houston restaurant and bar, got her phone number and initially tried to arrange a date at the Houston Galleria. The woman did not want to meet Watson in public and instead agreed to dinner at her apartment, the lawsuit says.

According to the complaint, Watson had trouble finding her apartment the night of the date and began aggressively yelling and screaming at her on the phone, saying he “didn’t have time for this.”

The lawsuit alleges that while the woman was in the bathroom applying makeup, she found Watson “completely naked on her bed, lying face down on his stomach.” Watson then asked the woman to massage his buttocks and the woman “attempted to soothe Watson by rubbing his back instead of his buttocks,” the lawsuit says.

Watson then turned around and “proceeded to demand that Jane Doe massage him, pointing from his knees to his groin,” the complaint alleges. The woman told Watson she was not a massage therapist, to which Watson asked her what she wanted to do instead, the complaint alleges.

Before the woman could respond, Watson “partially undressed Jane Doe and penetrated her vagina without consent, implied or explicit,” according to the lawsuit, which also alleges Watson sexually assaulted the woman for several minutes before escaping and grabbing a heavy piece of decoration for self-defense. Watson then “stormed out of Jane Doe’s apartment,” the lawsuit says.

The NFL declined to comment. A Browns spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Watson, 28, was suspended 11 games in 2022 after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior during massage sessions. Two grand juries in Texas declined to bring criminal charges against Watson, but he was suspended after the NFL and NFL Players Association settled his disciplinary case.

Watson was also ordered to pay a $5 million fine and submit to a mandatory evaluation by behavioral health professionals and follow their recommended treatment program before being reinstated by the league.

The lawsuit filed Monday is unrelated to the only civil lawsuit stemming from the women who accused Watson of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. However, the same attorney, Tony Buzbee, is representing the latest woman suing Watson.

Watson settled 23 of the 24 civil lawsuits filed against him in the summer of 2022.

In March 2022, the Browns traded six draft picks, including three first-round picks, for Watson, giving him a fully guaranteed $230 million deal, an NFL record at the time.

Suspensions and injuries have limited Watson to just 13 starts with Cleveland, including a 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday — his first game since undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery last November. Watson completed 24 of 45 passes for 169 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in the loss.

ESPN’s John Barr contributed to this report.