Houston Police Detective Testified That She Thought Deshaun Watson Committed Crimes

A Houston police detective said as part of a pretrial deposition that she believes Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson committed crimes against multiple women from whom he received massages.

According to Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today, detective Kamesha Baker said she felt Watson "committed criminal indecent assault, sexual assault and prostitution in cases where money was exchanged and there was consensual sex."

Baker added that she believed she had enough evidence to pursue the charges and was unsure why two grand juries declined to indict Watson.

While Watson isn't facing any criminal charges currently, he is facing 24 civil lawsuits by women accusing him of sexual assault or misconduct during massage therapy sessions.

Per a report by Jenny Vrentas of the New York Times, Watson saw at least 66 different women for massage therapy sessions over a 17-month span, and his former team, the Houston Texans, helped accommodate some of those appointments.

Included among the 66 women he hired to perform massage services are all 24 who have filed lawsuits against him.

While testifying, Baker said there "appeared to be a pattern of an attempt [by Watson] to make the massage session sexual."

According to Schrotenboer, eight of the women who have filed suit against Watson also filed complaints with the Houston police department, while two others filed complaints, but have not sued Watson.

The 26-year-old Watson spent four seasons with the Texans and earned three Pro Bowl nods. He did not play at all last season following the allegations and an earlier trade request.

After the first grand jury declined to indict Watson on criminal charges in March, he was traded to the Browns for three first-round picks, a third-round pick and two fourth-round picks.

Watson subsequently signed a five-year, $230 million contract with the Browns that is fully guaranteed, setting an NFL record for the most guaranteed money in a single deal.