On Monday, news broke over at Pro Football Talk that Texans minority owner E. Javier Loya, a wealthy Houston businessman, had been charged with rape in the first degree by engaging in sexual intercourse through the use of forcible compulsion. Loya is also charged with five counts of sexual abuse in the first degree, related to four separate victims, and one count of sexual abuse in the third degree. All but one charge are felonies in Kentucky. If convicted on all counts, Loya could face more than 45 years in prison.
According to the grand jury indictment, the incidents took place over two days last May. An arrest warrant was issued on May 10, 2023, and Loya posted a $50,000 bond on May 16.
When did the NFL find out?
The NFL provided a statement to PFT, saying the Texans “promptly notified the league of the serious pending charges against Mr. Loya after they were filed … Mr. Loya has not been permitted to participate in any league or club activity during this process. He is no longer on any league committees.” This begs the question of why it took the league until August to comment on Loya’s arrest. Deadspin reached out to the NFL and inquired, but, at the time of publication, the league had not responded.
The allegations stem from two poker parties that took place at Loya’s Louisville, Ky., home, for which he hired models from a local agency, according to WDRB. “At (one) party, multiple women 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,” the outlet reported.
In February of 2023, Loya faced a civil suit in Houston brought by another woman, who claimed that Loya “took it upon himself to sexually grope Jane Doe for his own sexual gratification,” saying “Loya’s sexual inappropriate touching of Jane Doe was unwanted and unwelcomed.” That suit was dismissed with prejudice in April, possibly having been settled out of court. Deadspin has been unable to ascertain if the NFL was aware of the civil suit.
What’s next for Loya?
Loya pleaded not guilty to his Kentucky criminal case and is set for a pretrial conference on August 22. Meanwhile, Loya has been ordered not to have contact with his victims. Andrew Sarne, Loya’s attorney, provided the following statement to Deadspin:
“Enrique Javier Loya absolutely denies the criminal claims against him. The allegations were made in May 2022. It took the Commonwealth more than a year to indict. Mr. Loya made the highly unusual offer to sit down with law enforcement and answer any and all questions. That offer was rejected, and Mr. Loya was indicted with no notice whatsoever. He was not ever informed that any Grand Jury was considering his case. Finally, there seem to be possible racial overtones to the allegations, with at least one complaint of an assault by a group of Mexicans. Mr. Loya will continue to work through the legal process and looks forward to clearing his name.”
Deadspin reached out to another of Loya’s attorneys, Scott C. Cox, for comment, but at the time of publication, had not heard back.