She met Watson when he arrived at her rented office space in the fall of 2019. His appointment, originally for a 90-minute massage, was booked through another massage therapist in the area. Mary had a contract with the other therapist, who would refer clients to Mary, take a fee and then pay Mary for the session. This other therapist had previously referred several other clients to Mary, without any issues, so she trusted her.
Mary didn’t know the client would be Watson until about 15 minutes before the appointment, which she says was routine when she’d receive a referral. The other therapist also relayed what she presented as a standard request from Watson, to use a towel for the session rather than sheets. Mary put out a beach-sized towel for maximum coverage.
When Mary books clients, she requires them to fill out an intake form, which stipulates that draping will be used during the session so that only the area being worked on will not be covered. (The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation adopted in February 2020 a requirement that genitals and the gluteal cleavage must be draped during massages; most licensed therapists already required this in their practice.) Since Watson’s appointment was set up through a third party, Mary’s understanding was that the other therapist would handle the paperwork, though she can’t say for certain whether Watson received or reviewed those rules. She used the oversize towel to drape him until about 45 minutes into the session, when she says he tossed the towel onto the floor, saying it was too itchy. Watson was lying face up on the table, naked and totally uncovered, something Mary says has never happened during any of her other massage appointments.
“I was in shock,” Mary says. She proceeded with the massage without the towel, knowing that her payment was coming from another therapist. “I trusted the therapist that referred him to me that nothing weird was going to happen.”
After 90 minutes, Watson asked to extend the session for another hour. She continued to work only on his quads, inner thighs and abdomen—the specific areas he requested. Watson developed an erection, she says, and also began clenching and slowly “thrusting the air.” Mary at first wondered whether his movements were a pain response to her deep-tissue work, so she asked whether he was O.K. She says he replied that he was fine and stopped thrusting for a short time.
Mary learned during her massage training that erections can develop as a relaxation response. She recalls situations in the past when that’s happened to a client while they dozed off; they usually become embarrassed when they realize it and start talking about something random to divert their thoughts. If that doesn’t work, she’ll sometimes switch to a more painful massage technique. But Watson’s behavior indicated to her that “his intentions were different.” She adds, “There was one point that he did tell me that I could move [his penis] if I needed to, and I just completely ignored him.” She took this as a suggestion to touch his exposed penis.
Watson stayed on his back for the entire session. While massaging his abdomen, Mary says she noticed “different fluids on his stomach.” She remembers questioning whether it was really pre-ejaculate, telling herself, This can’t be what I think it is. In the final five to 10 minutes of the session, Mary says Watson began thrusting his pelvis in the air again, this time much faster. “At that point, I recognized it for what it was,” Mary says. She says she told him he needed to “calm down.” He stopped, the session ended and she left the room to let him get dressed. When she returned, he gave her a hug. Because of his request to use the back entrance, she then had to walk him out of the building.
Mary says she immediately told the other massage therapist who had referred Watson to her everything that had happened; she remembers the other therapist telling her she would talk to Watson. Mary also called a family member directly following the session. SI spoke to this relative, who remembers taking Mary’s call that afternoon at a stoplight at a specific intersection in Houston. The relative’s account of what Mary told her then aligns with Mary’s description of the incident now; she also recalls Mary’s shock and disbelief that day, as she described what she believed to be the pre-ejaculatory fluid on his stomach and his suggestion for her to touch and move his penis. They were both stunned that she and the business she’d worked hard to build had been disrespected in this way.
Watson reached out to both Mary and the referring therapist the day after his appointment, asking to book with her again. Mary says she told him, via text, that she was not available. In the following months, she says she heard from Watson twice more, via Instagram direct message. Each time he did not seem to realize that he’d previously booked with her. SI reviewed these messages, sent from Watson’s verified Instagram account, as part of the process to corroborate Mary’s account.
The first follow-up was a few weeks later, via direct message to the Instagram page for Mary’s business. Watson said a mutual friend had told him to reach out about booking a massage. Mary told him they had worked together before, and he made her feel uncomfortable then. She had reservations, but recognizing that he could be an important client for her growing business, she told him she could work with him again if he could be respectful. She also made clear to him, in one message, “I just do massage,” followed by the upside-down smiley face emoji. Watson replied, “Oh gotcha, sorry there were no intentions for anything more.” He did not book an appointment.
The last time Mary heard from him was in the fall of 2020. This time, Watson DM’ed her personal Instagram account, replying to a post in which she’d made an announcement about her business and congratulating her. He then asked whether she had any availability for a massage. Mary was again unsure whether he realized who she was, so she screenshotted and sent the conversation they’d had on her business account. She reiterated to him that she runs a professional business that requires full-sheet draping, and, if he could abide by those policies, he was welcome to book with her. She says he replied to her positively and liked one of her messages. He did not book that time, either. Mary says she has had no contact with Watson or his camp since this last exchange.
