1) This type of sexual assault allegation is almost impossible to prove. The nature of situation is a closed room with no witnesses other than Watson and the massage therapist.
2) Indicting a celebrity is not like indicting a non-celebrity. The resources they are able to put forth alone makes it difficult. The legal standard is whether the evidence, taken in the light most favorable to the prosecution, is sufficient to prove each element of a crime charged. This is the same standard a prosecutor has for the charging document and why the grand jury indictment rate is >99%.
Generally, any victim statement and some indirect substantiation (cell records, texts, appt log, etc.) is sufficient. This is why we have the “indict a ham sandwich joke.”
That he didn’t get indicted is a reflection of his legal counsel being present, there being no limitation on bias/conflict, the issue already being debated hotly in the community, the 9/12 juror requirement in TX, and the grand jury likely weighing the merits and not just the allegations (which often happens in high profile cases).
3) Not charged, no bill, not guilty, and innocent are three very different things. Al Capone was never charged with any of the murders, thefts, bootlegging, or racketeering he did. The Catholic Church isn’t rushing to canonize the Raketeering RobinHood.
4) Likewise, there is ample smoke and reason to believe a number of accounts. An example: The SI write up from “Mary” who is not filing a lawsuit is worth a read. Unlike complaints with limited information (simply the minimum necessary to move a case forward), it was well documented and vetted by Sports Illustrated with contemporaneous statements, direct messages, appointment logs from two therapists, payment verification, etc.
The pattern of finding dozens of different massage therapists is troubling. It’s not direct proof of anything or criminal, but generally you don’t doctor shop if you aren’t looking for a particular result.
5) I draw a delineation, fair or unfair, between visiting & soliciting someone at the Asian Sun Eastern Tug & Tap Massage Parlor and Memorial’s sports medicine and rehabilitation center. There’s always a power dynamic at play when you can make or break a person’s career.
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