One thing Winston almost certainly did not do, however, is send hundreds of sexually explicit messages — including an invitation to "suck his 'chocolate meat' " — to a Pennsylvania prisoner. And yet, that's exactly what inmate Thomas Paul Nicholas is claiming.
Winston is an easy target. Ever since the Florida State Attorney's Office in Tallahassee announced on November 14 that it was opening an investigation into a year-old claim that Winston sexually assaulted an FSU student, the QB has been squarely in the media's crosshairs.
But Nicholas' lawsuit is nonetheless a surprise. In a handwritten motion filed November 18, Nicholas outlines an alleged internet friendship with the quarterback gone horribly wrong. He claims that the two became buddies on MySpace but that "the messages became sexual where Winston would ask me to perform sexual acts on him and try to lure me to Florida to have sex with him."
"I'm not homosexual and I told Winston this," Nicholas continues, but "Winston told me he doesn't care. Winston sent me a picture of himself naked holding his erect penis in his hand smiling."
Then things get even weirder. "Winston sent me messages saying he wants to suck my white penis," Nicholas claims in the lawsuit. "I told Winston to stop bullying me. Winston sent me a message telling me if I told the police on him, he was going to kill me. Winston sent me over 350 sexually graphic messages which cause me humiliation. I have nightmares, and fear Jameis Winston is going to [word missing] me and rape me when I'm released because he told me this.
"Winston said in a Valentine's letter he wants to have anal sex with me," Nicholas then adds implausibly. "Winston told me I'm his white lover and wanted me to suck his 'chocolate meat.' " Oh, and then Nicholas concludes by saying he is seeking $1 million in damages from the NFL prospect.
The lawsuit is actually a motion for a restraining order, as Nicholas says he "faces imminent danger and bodily harm" from the football player. That claim is all the stranger because Nicholas is currently locked up in a prison outside Bellefont, Pennsylvania. Court records show Nicholas — a five-foot-seven 24-year-old — pleaded guilty to one count of theft in Pike County, Pennsylvania, in 2009. But records from his home state of New Jersey are more troubling. Nicholas has been convicted of multiple crimes, including burglary, arson, and sexual assault.
Needless to say, Nicholas isn't the most credible of plaintiffs. So despite his other difficulties, Winston probably isn't worried about the lawsuit — if he's even aware of it.
A Tampa-area judge denied the request for a restraining order less than 24 hours after Nicholas filed it.
