A female personal chef has accused Stefon Diggs of hitting and choking her over a payment dispute.
The Patriots wide receiver is facing charges of felony strangulation or suffocation and misdemeanor assault and battery. Diggs had a virtual hearing at Dedham District Court on Tuesday morning, where his attorney, David E. Meier, motioned to impound the police report and related case documents.
The judge denied the motion and MassLive obtained the incident report. The victim said after she told Diggs he owed her money on Dec. 2, he attacked her. According to the police report:
“She said that on this date, the male that she worked for entered her unlocked bedroom. They had been having an ongoing text exchange over money owed to (victim). She said that they began to discuss this, which apparently angered the male.
“She alleges that the male then smacked her across the face. She said that she tried to push him away. The male then tried to choke her using the crook of his elbow around her neck. She said that he was behind her with his arm wrapped around her. She said that she did feel like she had trouble breathing and that she felt like she could have blacked out. She said that as she tried to pry his arm away, he tightened his grip. At that point, the male threw her onto the bed.
“He said something to the effect of, ‘Thought so.’ And then she told him that she still hasn’t been paid. At that point, the male said, ‘lies’ and walked out of the room.”
At that point, the victim revealed her employer was Diggs, and the police report says she “was very hesitant to come forward” due to his fame. The victim said that a week after the attack, Diggs’ assistant told her she would be paid if she signed a non-disclosure agreement, which she declined.
According to the police report, the victim went to the Dedham Police Department on Dec. 16, where she gave a statement to officer Kenneth Ellis. The officer wrote in the report that he called Diggs on Dec. 20 and Dec. 22, but did not receive a call back after leaving two messages.
On Dec. 23, the victim told the department she wanted to move forward with criminal charges.
The victim filled out a domestic violence offense report and a strangulation/suffocation supplemental form with police. In that report, the victim wrote that while Diggs was strangling her, he said, “What was all that (expletive) you was saying in the text, (expletive). That social media (expletive) not going to work.”
Diggs is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges on Jan. 23, and his attorney released a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
“Stefon Diggs categorically denies these allegations,” Meier said. “They are unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, and were never investigated — because they did not occur. The timing and motivation for making the allegations is crystal clear: they are the direct result of an employee-employer financial dispute that was not resolved to the employee’s satisfaction. Stefon looks forward to establishing the truth in a court of law.”
Diggs, 32, is in the first season of a three-year deal he signed with the Patriots in March. New England has one game remaining in the regular season before the playoffs begin, and the team released a statement supporting Diggs.
“The New England Patriots are aware of the accusations that have been made regarding Stefon Diggs,” the statement read. “Stefon has informed the organization that he categorically denies the allegations. We support Stefon. We will continue to gather information and will cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities and the NFL as necessary. Out of respect for all parties involved, and given that this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time.”
