Report: Grand Jury to Hear Watson Case on Friday, Same Day As Civil Deposition

Editor’s note: This story contains alleged accounts of sexual assault. If you or someone you know is a survivor of sexual assault, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or at https://www.rainn.org

It has been nearly a year since the first civil lawsuit was filed against Deshaun Watson. Now, a grand jury is set to hear his case Friday, and multiple women who have filed criminal complaints against the Texans’ quarterback have been subpoenaed, the plaintiffs’ lawyer Tony Buzbee told The New York Times. 

Friday, March 11, also reportedly marks the day his civil deposition begins. 

Watson faces extensive legal trouble—22 active civil lawsuits and reportedly 10 criminal complaints. From March 16 until April 14, 2021, 23 lawsuits were filed against the Texans’ quarterback describing sexual harassment and sexual assault, spanning from March 2020 until March ’21.

One lawsuit was dropped by a plaintiff “for now,” according to court documents, “in light of privacy and security concerns.”

The civil lawsuits currently on the Harris County District Clerk’s website include allegations that range from Watson refusing to cover his genitals to forcing women to put his penis in their mouth. According to the Times, the criminal complaints reflect similar accusations, including ejaculating on them and alleged sexual assault or attempted sexual assault. 

Watson’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that the request to postpone the deposition until Monday was denied, and therefore, his client will be invoking the Fifth Amendment. 

Hardin said to Pelissero, “I’m not going to allow him to testify [in the civil cases] until the grand jury completes its investigation.”

Search warrants were reportedly issued last year for access to all platforms owned by Facebook, such as Instagram and Cash App, and the warrant reportedly detailed allegations from nine women that the Texans’ quarterback coerced them into sexual encounters, as previously reported by ABC13 Eyewitness News.

It is possible that the grand jury will not indict Watson for a crime.

According to the Times, eight of the 10 women who filed criminal complaints also filed civil lawsuits; however, Watson reportedly won't be deposed yet for those specific cases. 

A court ruled last month that Watson can be deposed in the coming weeks for nine of the active lawsuits he faces, per ESPN’s John Barr. Hardin argued that the deposition should be delayed, but the judge denied the motion for the civil cases that did not file criminal complaints.