HOUSTON – KPRC 2 Investigates has obtained several search warrants approved by a judge to collect data from Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson’s social media accounts, primarily Instagram, and CashApp. The warrants, which were signed off on in October, were to aid in the investigation against Watson, who is being accused by 22 women of inappropriate sexual conduct during massage or therapy sessions.
It is important to note that Watson has not been charged with any criminal offenses. However, the warrants indicate Houston police are requesting information as part of a criminal investigation into the indecent assault.
An 18-year veteran investigator with the Houston Police Department’s Adult Sex Crimes Unit detailed her findings, which are listed in the search warrant documents.
According to the warrant, beginning in March 2021, several adult women made an outcry alleging they were sexual assault and/ or indecent assault victims of Watson.
The majority of his accusers reside in Houston. Most of the women stated they were initially contacted by Watson via Instagram for massages, and his method of payments was typically CashApp.
The warrants detail accounts from nine women accusing Watson of similar misconduct.
The investigator confirmed that all of the women were either licensed massage therapists or provided specialized services that focus on body conditioning or body wellness therapy, including stretching, body scrubbing, body contouring and skin treatments. The women were all in legitimate practices, and the majority of them advertised their business using social media platforms like Instagram. There were also some alleged victims who came into contact with Watson through referrals or assignments through their workplace.
Some of the women told investigators messages were not part of their services and claim they told Watson when he reached out to them.
According to documents, one alleged victim shared that she had a scheduled appointment with Watson - at her private residence - on March 30, 2020. She said when he arrived, he told her he wanted to drape himself with a towel he brought instead of the sheet she was providing.
The woman said Watson requested that she not use her knuckles, forearms or elbows and wanted her to use only her hands, and to massage his groin area, documents state.
The woman went on to claim that Watson pulled out his phone with a picture of an anatomy of a leg to show her what particular area he wanted her to massage. The woman said when she rolled Watson over to begin on the requested area, he jerked his body, causing the towel to fall, exposing himself. The woman said she immediately covered him back up.
The woman claims that’s when Watson wanted her to go lower and his private part allegedly touched her hand. The woman claimed she ended the session and asked him to leave. She said Watson paid her via CashApp and later sent her a text message apologizing for making her feel uncomfortable.
Another alleged victim who worked at a spa said Watson came to her business for a scheduled session on Oct. 8, 2020.
According to documents, in that session, Watson also told the massage therapist that he wanted his lower legs massaged, and during the session, asked her to touch his private area. He also asked her to massage his entire rear end, inside and outside. The woman said when she tried to cover his naked body, he would not let her and asked her to grab his private area. After the session, the woman and her boss who scheduled the appointment were both paid through CashApp.
Documents give details of another licensed massage therapist who shared what allegedly happened to her during several sessions with Watson in September and October 2019. She said in the first session, Watson exposed himself, and in the second session, he went further by asking her to massage the area between his front private area and buttocks. In the third session, the woman claims Watson told her he wanted to end with sexual intercourse. He paid for all of these sessions with CashApp.
The documents list more descriptive details of alleged incidents between Watson and other accusers.
Through the search warrants, investigators have accessed chat logs from Watson’s social media, messages, searches and other correspondence.
They also used the CashApp records to match the payments with the dates of the incidents of the claim. That warrant also allows investigators to gain access to transaction history, IP addresses, account holder records, etc.
The range of the warrants are from Sept. 2019 through Jan 2021, which spans the timeline of when the alleged incidents with the women occurred.
Over the last year, Watson’s activities have been controversial both on and off the field. The quarterback has been very vocal about his wishes to be traded from the Texans team, and although he is listed on the active roster, he has not played any games this season.
Rusty Hardin sent the following statement in response to the search warrants:
“These allegations were put in a search warrant in order for law enforcement to be authorized to obtain records, that we would have made available for them if only asked. I am totally confident in saying whatever allegations that are said about Deshaun being improper and illegal in any of these massages are simply not true – whatever they are.”
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