ProFootballTalk broke the news last week that Houston Texans minority owner Enrique Javier Loya had been charged in May with one count of first-degree rape, five counts of first-degree sexual abuse, and one count of third-degree sexual abuse. The Texans said they already knew about it, then the NFL added that it also had known about it.
But what led to the criminal charges? A grand jury document, as well as reporting by Louisville and Houston media, helps shed some light on what Loya is accused of doing.
Loya wasn't charged by prosecutors. He was indicted by a grand jury in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The true bill handed up by the grand jury doesn't go into much detail, but it does say that the events occurred over two days in 2022. On May 15, 2022, Loya subjected a woman to forced sexual contact, leading to one of the charges of first-degree sexual abuse, per the court document. The rest of the charges are connected to May 16, 2022. On that day, the document said, Loya subjected three different women to forced sexual contact; one of the women also was subjected to forced sexual intercourse.
WDRB in Louisville got even more court records. They reported that the documents show the charges stem from two parties held by Loya in Louisville for his male friends. Per WDRB, Loya hired female models for the two parties, one on May 15 and one on May 16. From WDRB:
On May 15 of last year, according to prosecutors, Loya hosted a poker party at his Louisville home and hired several women from a local modeling agency to work the party.
One of the woman claims he touched her and spoke to her in a sexual manner, grabbing her butt and breasts without her consent, according to court records.
On May 16, 2022, Loya held another party and again hired female models from the same agency, prosecutors allege. At that party, multiple woman claim Loya touched them, kissed them and pulled their hair, among other allegations. One alleged victim said Loya reached his hand inside her underwear and penetrated her, according to prosecutors.
Loya was also accused of picking up another woman, throwing her over his shoulders and placing his hands in her underwear.
Since the news broke about the recent criminal charges, a lawyer for Loya has issued two statements. On Aug. 7, Andrew Sarne told the Houston Chronicle that his client “unequivocally and categorically denies these allegations." A day later, Sarne issued another statement, denying the criminal claims and saying there were “possible racial overtones to the allegations, with at least one complaint of an assault by a group of Mexicans.”
Reporting out of Houston would later show that this was not the first time a woman said Loya groped her. The Chronicle reported that, back in February, Loya had been sued in a Harris County civil court by a woman who said Loya groped her at a private party held in a Houston restaurant. Per her lawsuit, Doe worked for the company that owned the restaurant, and she was working at the event when she approached Loya to say hello and "give him a chalice for the club's rum fountain."
"While attempting to discharge her duties on behalf of Emilia's Havana, Loya took it upon himself to sexually grope Jane Doe for his own sexual gratification," her lawsuit said.
Doe removed herself from the group and told management what happened. Yet the event continued. The lawsuit said that other women also were possibly groped at the event. But when Doe said she no longer felt comfortable working at the restaurant after what happened, she was "offered a demotion and reduction in pay."
Loya responded to the lawsuit a day later. In the document, Loya denied making "any improper contact" with Doe and said security video and audio recordings from the restaurant would confirm that nothing improper happened between them. The response added that the venue audio would also show Doe talking about how rich the guests would be and saying, "Can you imagine how much money you could get in a divorce if you walked in to some shit like this?"
On April 19, Doe's lawyer told the court that she was withdrawing all her allegations against Loya and wanted her lawsuit dismissed with prejudice, meaning she could not refile with the same claim. The judge granted her request.
The NFL said it knew about the criminal case, saying in a statement: "The club promptly notified the league of the serious pending charges against Mr. Loya after they were filed." Since the charges, per the NFL's statement, Loya has not participated in any league or club activities and is "no longer on any league committees."
A full copy of the true bill from the grand jury is below. You can read the January lawsuit here, and Loya's response to that lawsuit here.
