1 of Deshaun Watson's accusers drops lawsuit due to privacy as women's identities revealed
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- One of the 22 women accusing Deshaun Watson of unwanted sex acts during massage sessions with the Houston Texans quarterback is not going forward with her civil lawsuit against him.
The "Jane Doe" plaintiff, who alleged Watson touched her with his genitals during a session in July 2020, cited "privacy and security concerns" over not pursuing her case "for now," stated a document filed in Harris County on Tuesday.
The concerns brought up by the anonymous accuser came as Houston attorney Tony Buzbee stated his law firm would amend all of the lawsuits to disclose the names of the plaintiffs.
On Tuesday, names attached to 11 lawsuits became known, including those of Ashley Solis and Lauren Baxley, two women who went public before Watson's legal team filed to force the accusers' identities to be disclosed. Three more had been amended as of Wednesday morning.
In the case of Solis, in particular, her amended lawsuit included electronic messages that show threats made against her after she spoke publicly on April 6.
Editor's note: ABC13 has decided not to publish the names of any of the accusers who have not publicly identified themselves outside of court documents.
The lawsuits, all originally filed on behalf of Jane Does from March 16 to April 2, allege inappropriate behavior and sexual assault against Watson.
On Friday, two judges ruled that most of the plaintiffs suing Watson must identify themselves. The rulings from two hearings Friday covered 13 of the 22 lawsuits filed against Watson, while the attorneys also agreed to release a 14th name later in the day. Before Friday, only two women had been publicly identified.
Click through this immersive experience to read about each of the 22 lawsuits. For a better experience on the app, click here to see the experience on its own page.
Deshaun Watson's lawyer granted hearing over accuser's identity
In his statement, Buzbee said his law firm "previously attempted to make available to Defense Counsel the names of the plaintiffs suing Deshaun Watson, and intended to do so in due course."
"We were concerned about the safety of these plaintiffs, and asked the Watson team to agree to a protective order where the identities could be used in litigation, but not broadcast to the world," Buzbee's statement continued.
In a statement last week, Hardin said when his law firm asked Buzbee "to identify his clients weeks ago, he refused and told us to file a motion."
"While I understand that anonymity often is used as a shield for victims, Mr. Buzbee is using it as a sword," Hardin said in a statement on Thursday. "While shielding his clients from public scrutiny, Mr. Buzbee continues to use their anonymous allegations to destroy Mr. Watson. This is simply not right. And we look forward to resolving these matters in court."
Hardin acknowledged during a news conference on Friday that there were some "consensual encounters" between Watson and some of the 22 women who have filed lawsuits against him, but he said at no point did Watson engage in any acts that were not "mutually desired."
"Were there sometimes consensual encounters? Yes," Hardin said.
When asked to clarify his comments about Watson taking part in sex acts with some of the women who have filed lawsuits against him, Hardin replied, "In some of these massages, there's going to be no question. We've never run from it."
In his statement on Tuesday, Buzbee said that while Watson "may now claim he had consent to do what he did" to these women, "in their minds he didn't have consent."
ESPN contributed to this report.
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