Sarah/Grooming

September 16, 2017: Sarah Rejects an Allegation Involving a 14-Year-Old

In a September 16, 2017 Twitter exchange, Sarah stated that Greg would have been “disgusted” by conduct involving a 14-year-old and said the person making the allegation was lying.

In this Twitter direct-message exchange, an Onision detractor known as “The Josh” asks Sarah why she does not believe a source making an allegation about Onision.

Sarah responds:

“Because I know Greg and he would not do that. A 14 year old? He would have been disgusted.”

She then adds:

“Whoever your source is is lying to you.”

What the message directly shows: At the time of this conversation, Sarah did not merely say that she was uncertain or lacked information. She affirmatively stated that, based on personally knowing Onision, she believed he would be disgusted by the idea of sexual conduct involving a 14-year-old. She also stated that the person supplying the allegation was lying.

Why it matters: This statement was made before Sarah’s later grooming allegations. It is relevant because it shows that Sarah’s expressed view at the time was that Onision was opposed to sexual involvement with minors and would not engage in the conduct being alleged. The defense contends that this materially conflicts with the later claim that Onision was grooming or sexually targeting minors.

Source: Twitter direct-message conversation dated September 16, 2017, between “The Josh” and Sarah.

In an October 1, 2018 message, Sarah acknowledges that Lucas did not return her romantic feelings and says she had known for two years that a relationship would not happen.

October 1, 2018: Sarah Describes Unreciprocated Romantic Feelings Toward Lucas

In this message, sent after Sarah had turned 18, Sarah tells Lucas that she understands he does not have romantic feelings for her.

Sarah writes:

“I’m not mad because you don’t have romantic feelings for me. It hurts but I know you have no control over that just like I have no control over my feelings.”

She also states:

“I’ve known nothing was ever going to happen for 2 years and I still stuck around because regardless of me being in love with you, you were always my best friend before anything else.”

Sarah explains that she had tried for years to overcome her feelings because preserving the friendship was important to her.

What the message directly shows: Sarah described herself as being in love with Lucas while acknowledging that Lucas did not return those romantic feelings. She also stated that she had believed for approximately two years that a relationship was not going to happen.

Why it matters: This message is relevant to the later grooming allegations because Sarah’s contemporaneous account describes the romantic interest as originating with her and being unreciprocated by Lucas. It also indicates that she expected rejection rather than believing that Lucas had promised, encouraged, or prepared her for a future romantic relationship.

Source: Text-message exchange dated October 1, 2018, between Sarah and Lucas.

October 1, 2018: Sarah States She Knew a Relationship With Lucas Was Never Going to Happen

In this message, Sarah explains that she had been in love with Lucas since she was 14 but kept those feelings secret because she believed revealing them could cause her to be removed from James and Lucas’s lives.

In an October 1, 2018 message, Sarah states that she had been in love with Lucas since age 14, knew a relationship would not happen, and says James repeatedly made that clear even after she turned 18.

Sarah writes:

“I have known for two years it was out of the question not just when I was 16/17 but even after I was 18.”

She then states:

“Greg made it painfully clear multiple times that pigs would fly before I would ever come close to having a chance with you even after my 18th birthday.”

Sarah also says:

“I stayed because you’re my best friend and I love you.”

She explains that she did not begin the friendship for romantic purposes and had originally planned to keep her feelings secret indefinitely.

What the message directly shows

Sarah states that her romantic feelings toward Lucas originated with her, remained unspoken for years, and were not reciprocated. She also states that James repeatedly made clear that a relationship with Lucas would not happen, including after Sarah became an adult.

Why it matters

This message directly contradicts the claim that James or Lucas were cultivating Sarah for a future romantic or sexual relationship. Sarah’s own contemporaneous account describes the opposite: she concealed her feelings, expected rejection, and understood that James firmly opposed the possibility of a relationship.

Source

Text-message exchange dated October 1, 2018, involving Sarah, Lucas, and James.

January 2019: Sarah Requests That James Sign the NDA

In this text-message exchange, Sarah actively discusses the proposed nondisclosure agreement and specifically says she needs James to sign one.

In January 2019, Sarah requested that James sign an NDA because he had “a fat mouth,” discussed adding a clause for her own peace of mind, and was told James wanted the agreement to be mutual.

Sarah writes:

“I think we should definitely think about adding that clause in there. You know... just for my peace of mind.”

She then jokes:

“totally professional intentions with this contract of course”

Sarah later states:

“but fr tho I need at least Greg to sign one bc he’s got a fat mouth”

Lucas responds that it was James’s idea for the agreement to be mutual.

What the messages directly show

Sarah was not passively presented with an agreement she knew nothing about. She participated in discussing its terms, wanted a particular clause added, and specifically requested that James sign because she was concerned he might reveal private information.

The exchange also shows that James proposed a mutual agreement, meaning the confidentiality obligations were intended to apply to both sides.

Why it matters

These messages directly contradict the later portrayal of the NDA as something created only by James and Lucas to silence Sarah. Sarah’s own words show that she wanted the agreement, discussed its contents, requested protection for her own “peace of mind,” and specifically wanted James legally bound to confidentiality.

The contemporaneous record shows Sarah treating the NDA as a mutual arrangement that would protect her as well.

Source

January 2019 text-message exchange between Sarah and Lucas.

January 7, 2019: Sarah Swears She Was Not Groomed

On January 7, 2019, Sarah explicitly told Lucas, “I swear on my grandmother you did not groom me,” before following the statement with a joke.

In this message to Lucas, Sarah gives an explicit and emphatic denial that she was groomed.

Sarah writes:

“I swear on my grandmother you did not groom me.”

She then follows the statement with a joke:

“Would say my mother but...ya know 😂”

What the message directly shows

Sarah did not express uncertainty, confusion, or hesitation. She made a direct statement that Lucas did not groom her and reinforced that statement by swearing on her grandmother.

The casual joke immediately afterward also shows that this was written in Sarah’s ordinary conversational voice rather than as a formal statement drafted by someone else.

Why it matters

Sarah’s January 7, 2019 statement directly conflicts with her later portrayal of Lucas as someone who groomed her.

This is not a vague defense of Lucas or a statement that she simply did not recognize grooming at the time. Sarah specifically identifies the accusation and expressly denies that it happened.

The significance becomes even stronger when this message is considered alongside Sarah’s other statements from the same period repeatedly denying grooming and rejecting the label of “groomer.” Taken together, the messages show a consistent contemporaneous account that differs sharply from the allegations she later made publicly and in litigation.

Source

January 7, 2019 text-message exchange between Sarah and Lucas, displayed from an iPhone conversation and captured on a MacBook.

January 7, 2019: Sarah Says She Was Not Groomed and Calls the Accusation Insulting

In this message to Lucas, Sarah directly rejects the claim that she was groomed and explains why she did not believe the accusation reflected her own experience.

On January 7, 2019, Sarah stated that she would have raised grooming during a major fight if she believed it had occurred, but did not because she was not groomed.

Sarah writes:

“Well think about this...if I actually felt groomed I would have brought it up in our big fight. But I didn’t because I’m not groomed.”

She then adds:

“And her saying that I am even if you didn’t do it is actually really insulting.”

What the messages directly show

Sarah states plainly that she was not groomed. She also points to a prior major argument as a moment when she would have raised grooming if she genuinely believed it had occurred, but says she did not because that was not how she understood the relationship.

Sarah further describes another person’s attempt to label her as groomed as insulting, especially when Lucas had not committed the conduct being attributed to him.

Why it matters

This message shows that Sarah was not simply unaware of the grooming accusation. She considered it directly, rejected it based on her own experience, and objected to someone else imposing that identity on her.

Her statement is especially significant because she connects her denial to a real conflict in the relationship. According to Sarah, even during a major fight, she did not accuse Lucas of grooming because she did not believe she had been groomed.

This directly conflicts with her later characterization of the same relationship.

Source

January 7, 2019 text-message exchange between Sarah and Lucas, displayed from an iPhone conversation and captured on a MacBook.

January 8, 2019: Sarah Says Lucas Is Innocent and Is Not a Groomer

In this message, Sarah directly tells Lucas that he is innocent and says other people are attempting to convince him that he committed grooming when he did not.

On January 8, 2019, Sarah told Lucas that he was innocent, accused others of gaslighting him, and stated that groomers know what they are doing while Lucas had done nothing wrong.

Sarah writes:

“I’m sorry you really don’t deserve this. You know you’re innocent.”

She then states:

“They’re gaslighting you.”

Sarah further explains:

“They’re making you think you were doing something that you weren’t. Groomers know what they’re doing and they don’t feel guilty about it.”

What the messages directly show

Sarah described Lucas as innocent and specifically rejected the claim that he had groomed her. She stated that other people were gaslighting Lucas into believing he had committed conduct that, in her words, he had not committed.

Sarah also demonstrated that she understood grooming as deliberate behavior, stating that groomers know what they are doing and do not feel guilty about it. She applied that distinction directly to Lucas and concluded that he was not a groomer.

Why it matters

This was more than a general expression of support. Sarah expressly identified the grooming accusation, explained her understanding of what grooming involves, and stated that Lucas had not done it.

Her statement directly conflicts with her later allegations against Lucas. It also reinforces the previous day’s message in which she swore on her grandmother that Lucas did not groom her. Together, these exchanges show a repeated and clearly expressed contemporaneous position that Lucas was innocent and that the grooming narrative was being imposed on him by other people.

Source

January 8, 2019 text-message exchange between Sarah and Lucas, displayed from an iPhone conversation and photographed using an iPhone camera.