Things are coming to a head with the Deshaun Watson massage assault cases.
The DA will present their findings to a grand jury, who will then decide if Watson is officially charged with anything. What he is charged with is important. If it is a misdemeanor, he likely won’t face punishment from NFL or jail time. If he is charged with any type of felony, that could change things up a lot.
Meanwhile, a judge won’t delay him giving a deposition in his civil trial, which means he will be pleading the fifth to every question he is asked.
The reason he has to plead the fifth is things that he says in a civil case deposition could be used against him in a criminal trial.
Here are the details we know about what the DA will present to the grand jury.
Nearly a year after allegations of sexual misconduct against Deshaun Watson were first publicized, several women who filed criminal complaints against him have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury on Friday, according to their lawyer, Tony Buzbee.
Ten women filed criminal complaints against Watson, the Houston Texans quarterback, last year, accusing him of sexual misconduct during massage sessions, according to Houston police records. The complaints released to the public were heavily redacted but listed acts ranging from Watson exposing himself, touching therapists’ hands with his penis and ejaculating on them. Three of the complaints allege sexual assault or attempted sexual assault, defined in Texas as nonconsensual penetration. Prosecutors are expected to present at least some of these cases to the grand jury, which will decide if criminal charges will be brought against Watson.
Search warrants issued in October in connection with the Houston police investigation, seeking access to the social media and Cash App accounts police said Watson used to book and pay for massages, named indecent assault as the crime being investigated. Indecent assault is a class A misdemeanor in Texas, punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $4,000, while sexual assault is a second-degree felony.
Hardin said the deposition of Watson on Friday will be “a worthless exercise” because he will advise Watson to assert his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.
Ashley Solis, a 28-year-old licensed massage therapist, filed the first civil suit against Watson last spring, saying that he purposely touched her hand with his erect and exposed penis during a March 30, 2020, massage appointment at her home. She filed a police report in early April 2021. Because the statute of limitations for misdemeanor cases in Texas is two years from the date the offense took place, the deadline for bringing charges against Watson in connection with Solis’s case is the end of this month.
With the draft coming up, Watson wants these cases wrapped up so he can get traded to a contending team.
He is running out of time as teams are already solidifying their QB positions for 2022.
Flip the pages for more about why Watson will plead the fifth.
