If Watson was truly looking only for massages, his protection should have come not from a nondisclosure agreement supplied by the Texans’ director of security but from a third person who could break the tie if the massage therapist later claimed something inappropriate occurred. As a result, there was never a witness to corroborate the version of either participant. That’s apparently how Watson wanted these massages to proceed. Third, the cases necessarily come down to the word of each woman against Watson because that’s how the massage sessions were structured.
That any sexual activity that occurred could have indeed resulted from implicit concern about what would happen if the massage therapist declined Watson’s effort to pivot from massage to sexual encounter. Baker argued that various facts inherent to the difference in size and stature of Watson and the women he hired on Instagram to provide him with private massages makes it difficult to consent. Second, Detective Baker’s testimony focused at times on the difference between consent and coercion. It provides the clearest path to their insistence that Watson did nothing wrong. But it makes plenty of sense that Hardin and Graham (and Watson) would want it that way. If the suspect chooses to exercise his constitutional right to remain silent, what are the police supposed to do? Abandon the case? And if the person making the complaint seems credible to those with the skill and experience in such matters, that’s enough to proceed. That’s part of what the police are trained to do. Yes, it’s for the police to make a basic credibility assessment the accuser. “Sorry, ma’am, but we are required to presume that the accused is innocent, so you’d better have something more substantial than your own story of what happened.” Hardin and Graham essentially believe that, when a women makes a criminal complaint alleging sexual misconduct, the response by law enforcement should be skepticism and cynicism, not support and comfort.Ĭonsider how, under Hardin’s and Graham’s view of the system, things would go if/when a woman makes a criminal complaint of sexual misconduct.
They’re summarized below.įirst, attorney Rusty Hardin’s questioning advances the misguided notion (as articulated last week by co-counsel Leah Graham) that the presumption of innocence applicable at trial also should apply in the investigative phase.
Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports has obtained a copy of the Baker deposition transcript, which is not subject to any type of court order.
Although Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was not indicted on any of 10 criminal complaints made against him, Houston Police Department detective Kamesha Baker testified last week that she believed based on her investigation that Watson committed multiple crimes.