According to the lawyer representing the nearly two dozen women accusing Deshaun Watson of sexual harassment and sexual assault, the FBI is also looking into the Houston Texans quarterback’s behavior.
Speaking with League of Justice founder Amy Dash, attorney Tony Buzbee said FBI agents from the Houston field division have spoken with him and Watson’s accusers on multiple occasions in recent days.
Per Buzbee, the agents found all the statements the alleged victims have given to police “very compelling and very persuasive” and the agency is taking the allegations against Watson “very seriously.”
The FBI, according to Buzbee, is interested in the case because it allegedly involves Watson bringing women from out of state into Texas after contacting them on the internet.
“Deshaun Watson reaches out to a woman in Atlanta, Georgia, while he’s in Houston,” Buzbee said at a press conference in early April. “Hear what I’m saying. He reaches out to a woman via direct message on Instagram who’s located in Atlanta, Georgia. He does this while he’s in Houston. He asks her for a massage. He tells her he’ll fly her in. He buys her a plane ticket. He arranges for her Uber from the airport. He Ubers her to the Houstonian.”
Since multiple states were involved in some of the alleged incidents, human trafficking charges could possibly be brought.
That’s why, according to Buzbee, the FBI is interested.
“He said to me, he’s like, ‘Look, what I’ve heard is that most of the reachouts occurred via the internet which creates jurisdiction for us,’” Buzbee said. “But then I understand there were these two women that were from out of state, which obviously creates more jurisdiction as well … When I did a press conference many months ago, I made it very clear that I had talked to people or to entities that were interested in the specifics of where the particular alleged victim was from, how the alleged victim got here [to Houston] but that is an ongoing issue at this moment.”
In a statement to TMZ, Watson’s attorney Rusty Hardin directly contradicted Buzbee’s claims about the FBI.
“I have absolutely no reason to believe that Deshaun is being investigated by the FBI,” he said. “Mr. Buzbee’s comments are just part of a long, continuing pattern of just trying to harm Deshaun in the public perception. It is despicable conduct and I hope one day people will hold him accountable when the whole truth comes out.”
As of now, Watson has not been arrested or charged with any crimes at the local or the federal level. An NFL investigation into his alleged behavior is ongoing. He also is still seeking a trade out of Houston.
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