Deshaun Watson Accused of Sexual Assault in New Lawsuit, Woman Claims She Was 'Terrified' of Quarterback

The NFL quarterback was again accused of sexual assault on Monday, after settling nearly two dozen sexual assault lawsuits in 2022

Deshaun Watson #4 of the Cleveland Browns looks on prior to a game against the Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns Stadium on October 01, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio
Deshaun Watson. Photo:

Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty

Deshaun Watson has been accused of sexual assault in another lawsuit filed Monday.

The lawsuit, obtained and reviewed by PEOPLE, was filed in Houston and accuses the 28-year-old NFL quarterback of assaulting a single mother at her apartment in October 2020 after she invited him over for dinner. The alleged incident happened when Watson was a member of the Houston Texans.

Watson was previously accused of sexually assaulting dozens of women during massage therapy sessions in 2022, later settling 23 out of 24 civil lawsuits filed against him. He was given an 11-game NFL suspension in 2022 as a result and was later traded to the Cleveland Browns, where he is currently the team’s starting quarterback.

The latest lawsuit alleges that Watson’s representatives approached the woman, who is identified in the filing as “Jane Doe,” at a Houston bar and asked for her number on his behalf. She said she was “flattered” by the request and she and Watson continued to text “intermittently” over the next several months.

Deshaun Watson #4 of the Cleveland Browns looks on prior to a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns Stadium on September 08, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Deshaun Watson.

Jason Miller/Getty

The woman said she invited Watson to her apartment for dinner after she declined his first suggestion of a date at the Houston Galleria. While on the way to her apartment and on the phone with Doe, Watson allegedly became frustrated and began “aggressively yelling and screaming” at the woman that he didn’t "have time for this.”

Once at the apartment, the lawsuit alleges Watson stripped down naked and laid face-down on the woman’s bed while she was in the bathroom applying makeup. Once she came out and discovered Watson “completely naked,” he asked her to massage his butt. The lawsuit alleges the woman was “terrified” by this point in the evening.

The woman instead "tried to appease Watson by rubbing his back, rather than his buttocks," according to the filing, but he then flipped over and requested that she continue massaging him “gesturing from his knees to his groin.” The woman allegedly attempted to refute Watson’s request, telling him she was not a masseuse. 

“Before Jane Doe could answer, Watson grabbed Jane Doe’s leg and positioned her so that she was lying down,” the lawsuit alleges. “Watson then partially disrobed Jane Doe and penetrated her vagina without consent, implicit or explicit. Jane Doe felt paralyzed, unsure if she should risk her safety by trying to stop Watson or endure his assault.”

After several minutes, the woman allegedly escaped Watson and grabbed “a heavy piece of décor for self-defense, and yelled at Watson get out of her apartment.”

The lawsuit then alleges that Watson became “enraged” and “stormed out” of the apartment. 

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Deshaun Watson #4 of the Cleveland Browns looks on after the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Cleveland Browns Stadium on September 08, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cowboys defeated the Browns 33-17.
Deshaun Watson.

Nick Cammett/Getty 

PEOPLE has contacted Watson's agent and the NFL for comment.

The lawsuit was filed by Texas attorney Tony Buzbee, who represented the two dozen women who previously accused Watson of sexual assault, according to CBS. The woman is seeking more than $1 million in damages.

“This is an extremely serious matter,” Buzbee told PEOPLE in a statement Tuesday morning. “We intend to pursue this case with the same aggressiveness with which we pursued the others. We want a jury trial. As far as any specific comments on the facts of the case, we believe the lawsuit speaks for itself.”

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